


Infinity

by VerBeek



Category: Ben 10 Series, DC Cinematic Universe, Marvel Cinematic Universe, X-Men (Movieverse)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Comedy, F/F, F/M, M/M, Marvel 616/MCU Crossover, Post-X-Men: Days of Future Past
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-09
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2018-12-13 02:40:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 39,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11750361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VerBeek/pseuds/VerBeek
Summary: After the death of an old enemy Ben's world turns upside down, as he is faced with a decision he never thought her would have to make, and an entirely new world. Welcome Benjamin Tennyson to the Marvel Universe!





	1. A Shattered Dream Part I

**So here it is my first story, it will be a Marvel/Ben 10 mix-em-up, however there will be a lot more mature with content pulled from the MCU and the comics combined with a little flair of my own. FYI, the events of the last season of Omniverse NEVER happened in this story, excluding the final fight with Vilgax and Malware, so say goodbye to the convoluted Time Travel Plot, rushed BenKai romance, and that god awful Skurd alien. I do not own MCU or Ben 10 (Though, considering how the reboot is looking, I wish I did). Italics are flashbacks, and emphasis (Brackets are telepathy) So, let’s get this baby started!**

**Infinity Chapter I**  
**A Shattered Dream Part I**

_Four years have passed since Ben’s final victory of his greatest enemy, the tyrant Vilgax. During the interim the Plumbers have since gained galaxy wide notoriety. The rise in funds, recruits, and new tech provided by the Galvans and Highbreed have made them such a force to be reckoned with the Ben’s heroics are no longer required. The twenty year old former hero has faded into the background, but a threat is rising that will change his life forever._

**Tower of Hex, June 19th, 1:00 EDT**

The ancient building’s halls were bereft of noise except for a soft crackling coming from the library’s fireplace, in front of which sat the master of the house. Hex, Master of the Staff of Ages, former Sorcerer Supreme and professor at Friedkin University. His skull patterned face was set in a contented smile as he read one of his many tomes, simply enjoying the peace he had found in his later life. Closing the book softly, he got to his feet, stretched and silenced the fire with a wave of his hand. He left the library and headed towards the kitchen, seemingly oblivious to the shadow that flashed past the library’s windows.

Entering the kitchen, he summoned a cup to his hand and watched as it filled itself with a warm golden brown liquid. Setting it down, he called two sugar cubes to his hand before freezing suddenly. He whirled around his eyes glowing with mystic energy

“Who dares come into my home unann--Hope!” Hex’s threat was cut off in surprise when he realized the supposed intruder was in fact his long lost niece.

“H-Hello Uncle,” Charmcaster gasped out, a pained smile on her beaten face. Her knees buckled nearly sending her to the floor, Hex managing to catch her at the last minute.

Hex looked over Hope critically, her long white hair was matted down with sweat, her purple eyes were red from exhaustion, and her normally pale skin had a grayish tint. Her purple jacket was torn in several places as were her black pants, her amulet was glowing a harsh red and was cracked down the middle. The most worrying thing however was the brace of bandages wrapped around her waist. They appeared to be several days old and he could clearly smell the sickening scent of putrefaction.

“Hope, what has happened to you?!” Hex cried, his fingers beginning to work complex patterns as he used his magic to begin healing Charmcaster’s wounds and mending her cloths.

“I w-was attacked,” Charmcaster said, fear and horror evident in her voice, “L-Ledgerdomain is in ruin!”

“How…how could that be?” Hex asked, floored.

“Adwaita returned...and he wasn’t alone.” Hope answered, her eyes filling with tears.

* * *

 

_A week ago_

_Ever since Charmcaster’s rejected deal with Dagon, a voice had whispered in her mind twisting her further and further into madness. Today that voice was screaming._

_(“Fire! Fire everywhere!”) The voice cried, as Hope looked around distraught, (Burning! Burning without a care!”)_

_Ledgerdomain was burning. Her kingdom was besieged and her people were running for their lives. In the past she wouldn’t have cared or even fought in their defence, but losing her father for the second time had taught her many things. The first, fight for what you have!_

_“Extinguere!” Hope yelled, a wave of water pouring from her hands to quench the flames that were approaching a line of fleeing refugees._

_Ignaceous, a Golem and her former enemy turned head guardsman raced forward to pick up a struggling mother and daughter an carry them to the portal that Charmcaster had erected._

_After handing them off to one of his compatriots he marched back to Hope’s side watching her cast spell after spell._

_“My Queen, we must leave.” Ignaceous said, his pure white eyes looking down into her blood shot purple orbs._

_“Not until, they are all through.” Charmcaster cried, deflecting an incoming boulder with a wave of her hand._

_“My Queen, you can not keep this up.” He fired back, before letting out a long sigh, “We can’t save them all.”_

_“I can, and I will!” Hope cried, tears beginning to track down her face, “I killed them all once…I must save them.”_

_(“Let sing the last bell.”), the voice whispered, (“Here comes the death knell.”)_

_There was a crack like thunder and a section of Hope’s guards disappeared in an explosion of gravel and bone. It was followed by a low chittering as the strange creatures that had assaulted her realm appeared. Part stone and part metal the creatures leaked a black and red muck that squirmed as it touched the ground. Each had a single circular red eye and fanged metal jaws though that is where their similarities ended. A cadaverously thin one with arm ending in a sharp blade let out a chittering cry before charging at Charmcaster weapon raised._

_It was intercepted by Ignaceous who grabbed its head in his rocky fist and squeezed ending it in a burst of red-and-black fluid. Another leapt to take it’s place, it’s right arm twice as wide as the other. Charmcaster sidestepped it’s wild blow before pointing her hand at it’s chest._

_“Vacuum.” Hope cried, a ball of force firing from her hand. It struck the creature in the chest which immediately collapsed in on it’s as the spell worked it’s violent deed. She turned to see Ignaceous tiredly smiling at her before it melted away into abject horror._

_“My Queen!” He roared, racing towards her._

_Charmcaster whirled around and froze when she say the massive reptilian monster that was bearing down upon her. It’s red eyes glittered with a cold, harsh intelligence as sofa sized fist descended towards her. A heavy cold force slammed her aside suddenly, followed by the sound of shattering stone._

_Charmcaster pushed herself up off the ground and cried in horror, “No!”_

_All that was left of Ignaceous was his head and the left side of his torso, he looked at his Queen one last time as the light began to leave his eyes._

_“Run.” he gasped out, his body crumpling to dust as his life left his body._

_The huge reptile laughed cruelly before facing Charmcaster a smirk playing across it’s horned face._

_(“A man of rock was he.”), the voice declared, (“With a better heart then the.”)_

_Charmcaster got to her feet, her eyes blazing with purple energy, she looked at saw with a hint of joy that the last of the refugees through the portal. It did little to dissuade her grief or anger however as her eyes caught sight of those who hadn’t made it their bodies strewn across the grown like puppets with their strings cut._

_“So Queen Hope.” The creature said in a mocking tone, “Are you going to run?”_

_“No.” She stated, taking a step forward, “You are. Ignis Draco!”_

_An immense burst of fire blasted from her mouth and seared the creature flesh pushing it further and further from the portal. It snarled in pain and stumbled before disappearing in a flash of red light. In it’s place was a tall figure made of rock-and-flames._

_“B-Ben.” Hope cried astonishing her anger vanishing into utter shock._

_“Not quite.” the being responded, his tone dripping with malice. He walked calmly through the flames before transforming once again revealing a white haired, red eyed clone of fifteen year old Ben Tennyson. He wore a long red lab coat, black shirt and pants. On his right hand was a red mechanical glove. His eyes were covered by red-lensed goggles._

_“Albedo.” The Galvan turned Haman supplied, seeing the confusion in her eyes, “And that name means nothing to you does it?”_

_“You come here, destroy my kingdom, my home! You kill my citizens and friends. And you have the gaul to make jokes!” Charmcaster cried, her eyes igniting once again._

_“Yes, well I suppose being stuck as Tennyson has forced me to pick up some of his rather unsavory habits.” Albedo remarked, staring at the back of his hand, the conversation seeming to bore him._

_“You bastard!” Charmcaster screamed, “Fulgur!”_

_A bolt of electricity blasted from her fingertips aimed directly at Albedo’s heart. At the last second it changed course abruptly, bouncing back towards Hope. She dodged aside and found herself at the feet of her old rival, Adwaita._

_“Hope.” the Geochelone, growled. The turtle-like alien’s head was wreathed in bright purple flames as were his large clawed hands, “I have come to retake my throne.”_

_“Don’t call me that.” Charmcaster spat, as Adwaita levitated her into the air._

_“I will call you whatever I wish,” he declared, sneering, “After I make you my slave.”_

_“I will never serve you!” Charmcaster yelled, struggling against the magic holding her captive._

_“It is not up to you.” Adwaita said, his smirk becoming predatory, “I-”_

_“Put her down.” A rasping voice said cutting across whatever the Geochelone had been about to say._

_Charmcaster turned her head and gasped in horror at the sight before her. Towering over Adwaita was a being she only knew by name. Vilgax, Conqueror of Ten Worlds, Arch Nemesis to Ben Tennyson._

_The towering Chimera Sui Generis had seen better days, the left half of his face was covered in burn scars and several of his tendrils ended in charred stumps. However the most disturbing part was his left arm or lack thereof. In it’s place was a long red-and-black tendril that writhed and squirmed of it’s own volition. Occasionally part of it would drip to the ground and writhe for several seconds before falling still._

_Adwaita stared at Vilgax for several seconds before the later spoke again, “I do not like to repeat myself Geochelone.”_

_“I am not one of your minions Vilgax.” Adwaita spat, glaring up at him, “I will do whatever I please.”_

_“I will not ask a third time.” Vilgax warned, his red eyes glinting with fury._

_“Do not threaten me you squid!” Adwaita yelled, “I am the rightful ruler of Ledgerdomain and you are nothing more than a broken husk of what you once more. Your plans will amount to nothing without me! So remember your pla-”_

_Vilgax stepped back, impassive eyes watching as Adwaita’s headless body slumped to the ground. The tendril was now a menacing looking blade that dripped with the Geochelone’s green blood._

_(“Of went his head”), the voice whispered, (“Now he lies dead.”)_

_Charmcaster fell to the ground and scrambled backwards away from Vilgax as fast as she could._

_“I never needed you, Adwaita.” Vilgax rasped, crushing the sorcerer's head beneath his boot. He then turned his eyes on Charmcaster, “You were just a means to an end.”_

* * *

 

Hex stared at his niece a mixture of horror and fear muddling his face, “My dear how did you escape?”

“I ran.” Charmcaster stated simply, “I opened portal after portal, stepping on worlds I have never seen before disappearing once more. When I finally felt like I had lost them I came here.”

“Well my dear it is a good thing you did.” Hex declared, standing up from his seat by the fire, “Anymore use of your magic would have killed you in the state you were in!”

“Uncle,” Charmcaster said, unsteadily getting to her feet, “We need help. We must contact the Tennysons, Ben knows more about fighting...

She trailed off as Hex held up his hand, his eyes set in deep concentration. He turned to his niece his eyes set in a hard glare.

“We are not alone.” He stated simply before turning on his heel and firing a blast of arcane energy at the nearest bookshelf. A salamander like figure detached from the wall and rolled to the side before disappearing in a flash of red light revealing Albedo.

“How?” Charmcaster cried, reading her own spell only for Hex to shake his head slightly and push her behind him.

“Well, if it had been anyone else, you would have lost them splendidly,” Albedo bragged, slowly walking towards the two, “But alas I am not anyone else, in fact it was almost child’s play to track you down. Being the smartest being in five galaxies has it’s advantages you know.”

“What do you want Galvan?” Hex demanded, his hands crackling with magic.

Albedo smirked, clearly not seeing Hex as much of a threat, “Well first I would like you to hand over your Staff of Ages, then Charmcaster.”

His smirked got a hard edge to it, “I require her assistance. If you comply we’ll walk right on out, no muss, no fuss. So what do you say? Deal?”

“Over my dead body.” Hex supplied, the Staff of Ages appearing in his grasp.

“Gladly.” Albedo said sadistically. The glass behind him shattered as two of his amalgamated creations burst through the window and launched themselves at Hex.

Hex raced to meet them, staff glowing with bright orange flames. He lifted his hand at the first amalgam, and smirked as it was crushed like a tin can, red-and-black fluid leaking everywhere. The second managed to rake it’s misshapen talons across it’s back earning a fireball down it’s throat for the trouble.

“Is that all?” Hex asked, resting his staff on his shoulder.

Albedo smirked, “Not even close.”

Six more of the amalgams crawled through the broken window as Albedo transformed, taking on the form of a white skinned, raptor like alien. He then began to race around the room at supersonic speeds sending everything into a panicked frenzy.

Hex batted one of the amalgam’s into the fire place which close around it like the maw of a hungry dragon, before grabbing another by the face and sending a blast of electricity through its metallic skin. It quickly fell to ash in his hands, he then slammed his staff onto the ground causing the whole floor to ripple knocking everything but himself and Hope of their feet.

Hex closed his eyes tight pouring all of his energy into the Staff of Ages before speaking a single word, “Patefacio.”

There was a sound like ripping paper as a rift appeared in the center of the room, it opened wide revealing utter darkness, which Hex sent the amalgams sent careening into with a harsh blast of wind. The portal snapped closed, leaving a stunned, human Albedo alone against the fuming Sorcerer.

“You destroyed my homeland!” Hex cried, firing a blast of ice at Albedo who dodged it easily.

“You killed my people!” Another spell fired from the Staff blasting a wide column of air that knocked Albedo back

“You invaded my home!” Hex yelled a blast of fire managing to catch Albedo’s side sending him to the ground.

“And you harmed my niece!” Hex roared, causing the stone work of the building itself to come alive and pin Albedo to the wall.

“This is the end.” Hex said, walking up to Albedo a blade of pure magic crowing from the mouth of the Staff forming a scythe.

“Indeed it is.” A voice rasped behind him, as he felt something incredibly sharp pierce through his pack and out his chest, “For you.”

Vilgax stood silhouetted against the moon his tendril have crossed the entire room to punch through Hex on the other side. The tentacle retracted causing Hex to slump to the ground blood pooling on his lips. The Staff of Ages fell from his grasp and was snatched up from the now freed Albedo who sneered down at the dying sorcerer before walking away.  
“No Uncle!” Charmcaster screamed, struggling against the grasp of the amalgams that were dragging her away.

“Silence spell weaver!” Vilgax snapped, turning his back on the dying sorcerer and his weeping niece.

“I’m going to kill you!” Charmcaster screamed, a manic light burning in her eyes.

Vilgax knelt down, his tentacle cupping her chin, “I would like to see you try. I have survived death ten times over and the last revealed the answer to something that I have dreamed of for nearly a decade. The death of Ben Tennyson.

“I will never help you!” Charmcaster spat, “Never!”

“Oh you will.” Vilgax said, reaching into his right hand pocket, “In fact I think you might enjoy it even.”

Charmcaster tried to pull away as he brought his hand closer to her face, black light seeped between his fingers as he neared her forehead.

(“Oh how unfair,”) the voice pouted as it became quieter and quieter, (“Here comes the Nightmare”)

Hex watched on, his life’s blood slowly draining away. As his spirit left his body he cast one final spell announced by a single word.

“Gwendolyn.”

Nearly half a world away Gwendolyn Tennyson woke with a start, her eyes glowing bright pink.

**Bellwood, June 19th 7:00 EDT**

“Ben.”

Ben Tennyson grumbled in his sleep, turning over slightly trying to ignore the voice.

“Ben!” the voice repeated, a bit more urgently.

“Five more minutes.” Ben muttered.

“Benjamin Tennyson, wake up this instant!” the voice yelled, finally prompting Ben to open his eyes. The first thing he saw however were his former partner’s yellow catlike yes inches from his face. He let out a yelp of surprise and managed to fall off his bed and onto the floor.  
“What the hell Rook?” Ben grumbled, pushing himself to his feet, “What are you doing here?”

“There has been an incident.” Rook said, his face set in what Ben liked to call, ‘Mission Mode’.

“What is it this time?” Ben asked nonchalantly, stretching, “Ssserpent get out again? Animo back to his old tricks? Oh let me guess, Fistrick was caught using alien steroids again?”

“Hex was murdered.” Rook declared, watching as Ben immediately tensed.

Ben turned around his emerald eyes hard, “Tell me everything.”

**Translations:**

**Extinguere-Quench**  
**Vacuum-Vacuum(What a surprise)**  
**Ignis Draco-Dragon Fire**  
**Fulgur-Lightning**  
**Patefacio-Open**

**And that is the end of part one. So I think two more chapters and our hero will be dropped into my Marvel Universe, a fusion of MCU, the X-Men movies, and bits of the comics. Also as you may have noticed this is going to be a maturer story, though I promise I won’t get overly graphic or sexual...yet.(Joking) If you have any questions shoot me a PM and I will be happy to oblige. VerBeek Signing Off!**


	2. A Shattered Dream Part II

**FYI, the events of the last season of Omniverse NEVER happened in this story, excluding the final fight with Vilgax and Malware, so say goodbye to the convoluted Time Travel Plot, rushed BenKai romance, and that god awful Skurd alien. I do not own MCU or Ben 10 (Though, considering how the reboot is looking, I wish I did). Italics are flashbacks, and emphasis (Brackets are telepathy) Part two coming at ya!**

**Infinity Chapter II**  
**Shattered Dreams II**

**English Plumber Base(Torchwood), June 19th, 1:40 EDT**

  
“Commander Jack we’ve got an unexpected entry.” A lesser Plumber cried out as an alarm started blaring across the base.

“Oh who’s broken in here this time.” Jack muttered, pulling his pistol from his belt. He walked around the corner, his eyes peeled for a familiar or maybe this time unfamiliar face.

“If this is another one of his jokes I swear…” He trailed off when he say who was standing before him. She was in her early twenties, with light skin, bright green eyes, and long disheveled red hair. She wore a set of black sweat pants and a blue t-shirt with a cat motif but the most distinctive features was the pink energy coalesced around her clenched fists.

“Gwen?” Jack said, putting on a rather charming smile, “What are you doing here?”

“I need to get a message to my grandfather.” Gwen said, barely contained tears marking the sides of her face.

“What’s wrong?” Harkness asked, he had worked sporadically with the young woman over the intervening years since her and her cousins retirement from the Plumbers and in all that time he had never seen her like this. He never enjoyed seeing people cry, especially not when they were on the prettier side of things.

“Focus Jack. She’s taken. Quit the fantasizing.” Jack admonished himself.

“Hex...he’s dead.” Gwen said, her voice breaking slightly.

Jack froze for several seconds before shouting out several orders, “Get me in touch with HQ now! Someone get a hold of Blanco, he’s going to want in on this one, and for the love of what ever god you find holy someone get me a beer!”

“What happened?” He said turning back to Gwen, a storm of emotions flashing behind intense hazel eyes.

**Torchwood 7:30 EDT**

The teleporter snapped to life, depositing Ben and Rook before closing once more. Ben was dressed his classic green jacket, over a black shirt, cargo pants and shin high combat boots. His face was set in a determined grimace while Rook’s was his classic professional deadpan. They walked forward avoiding the looks and mutters of some of the new recruits before finding their way in Harkness’s office. Ben’s grimace disappeared upon seeing Jack’s other visitor.

“Gwen!” Ben cried.

His cousin whirled around, a sad smile crossing across her face. Her hair had been pulled back in a hasty ponytail while she had replaced her sleepwear with a black sweater, black pants and black heels. She almost jumped into his arms as she embraced him, her grief over powering her.

“It’s been a while.” Ben muttered, putting her down. He looked at her with a quirked eyebrow for several seconds and smirked, “Did you get smaller?”

“Oh hush.” She said, smacking on the shoulder lightly before turning to Rook with a more subdued smile, “Hello Rook.”

“Good to see you again Gwendolyn.” Rook said, a small smile crossing his features.

A cough drew their attention to Harkness who was sitting at his desk his eyes traveling over Ben, “Jack Harkness nice to meet you.”

“Oh stop.” Gwen said exasperatedly, shooting Jack a piercing look.

“What?” Jack queered, “I’m just saying hi.”

“Sure you are.” Gwen admonished, turning back to her cousin, “He’s the leader of the Plumber’s here in Britain and he’s worked with Paradox before.”

“Actually, I said I worked with a time traveler, I never mentioned…” Jack cut to a halt when Gwen shot him another exhausted look, “Right not the time. So I’m guessing you heard what happened?”

Ben nodded, “Hex was killed in his home by a mysterious assailant. Rook said you found something but wanted me to see it in person.

“Correct.” Jack declared, standing up from his desk.

“Why?” Ben asked, following Jack and the others out of the former’s office.

“You’ll just have to see for yourself.” Jack said, turning to Gwen, “If you would amour?”

“I told you to stop saying that.” Gwen remarked, her eyes glowing with magical energy, “Kevin doesn’t like it.”

“What Levin is quite a looked himself you know, it’s too bad you found each other before I did.” Jack smirked, earning an eye-roll from Gwen and a look of pure confusion from Ben and Rook.

“Ignore him.” Gwen advised, the light in her eyes growing brighter, “It’s for the best.”

“Nos ad Hex Terris!” Gwen cried, a flash of pink light obscuring everyone’s sight. When their sight returned the found themselves outside of Hex’s home, the sun just peeking from behind the Tower, which had clearly seen it’s better days.

“There has been substantial damage all across the uppermost part of the tower.” Rook observed, pointing his Omni-Tool at the wreckage around them, “I am also detecting odd energy signatures all along the tower's surface.”

“What did this?” Ben asked, staring up at the shattered window.

“It’s about time you got here.” A voice called out. The assembled heroes looked up to see Kevin Levin, standing atop the outside of wall right next to a pair of large craters, “You’re going to want to take a look at this.”

“I’ll leave you four to it.” Jack said, staring around at the forest with his eyes narrowed, “Max wants me to report into HQ, message me if anything comes up.”

He then disappeared in a flash of white light but not before shooting the others a playful wink.

“Wait, why did he even come with us if he was just going to leave again?” Rook asked confused.

“Don’t ask.” Gwen said with an exasperated sigh, “When it comes to Jack, you can never guess what he’s going to do next.”

Rook nodded, before looking up at the Tower which Ben had already began to walk towards, “Do you sense anything out of place yourself?”

Gwen shivered slightly, “Something inside that Tower feels...twisted. The mana coming of it is just wrong.”

“Come on you two!” Ben yelled, already at the based of the Tower, “Let’s get this over with.”

**Inside the Tower**

Kevin grimaced slightly as he watched Gwen walk softly towards Hex’s dead body. The old man had once been her enemy not unlike Levin himself and had also turned over a new leaf. After his true niece had entered self-imposed exile Hex had started to treat Gwen like family, mentoring her in the schools of magic. His sudden and evidently cruel death had his her hard.

“Oh Hex.” Gwen muttered, using magic to seal the hole in his chest, while simultaneously wiping the blood away from his lips, “What did this to you?”

“My guess, is one of these...things” Ben snarled, kicking one of the dead Amalgams. He hadn’t known Hex as well or as intimately as Gwen had, but seeing the old man tossed aside like a broken doll had set a fire in his belly.

“What are they?” Kevin asked, bending down next to the other creature, which unlike it’s comrade who was a mashed up mess, looked largely unharmed. He rolled it over and jumped back slightly as the things fanged jaws fell open suddenly. As he watched a line of black-and-red liquid began to leak from its open jaws.

“Ugly bastard.” Kevin muttered, examining the tech embedded into its stony flesh, “These ports look like Psyphon’s tech, but he’s been locked up in Plumber HQ since that fiasco with the Pyroxivores.”

“The stone is similar to that skin of the Rock Golems of Ledgerdomain,” Rook said, bending down next to Kevin, “But the metal is reminiscent of that found on Vilgax’s old bioids.”

  
“Which went up in flames alongside old squidface five years ago.” Ben muttered, staring down at the amalgam, “Think somebody did some kind of salvage job?”

“The Vreedles maybe?” Rook queered, staring up at the others.

“No.” Gwen said, looking up from Hex’s corpse, “These things reek of distorted mana and black magic.”

“So...a black magic expert made these?” Ben asked, when suddenly the Omnitrix started beeping rapidly.

“Corrupted Galvanic Mechamorph DNA detected,” the watch said in Ben’s voice, “Would you like to fix?”

“Corrupted Galva-No!” Ben yelled, suddenly, “He died! He and Vilgax, I spaced them!”

“Ben what’s wrong?” Gwen asked, taken aback by her cousin's sudden outburst.

“That sludge...it’s Malware.” Ben stated, glaring intensely down at the amalgam, “And if he’s back….”

He stopped talking and suddenly activated the Omnitrix, he dialed past several aliens before coming across the alien he was looking for and locked it in. His skin turned a burnished gold, while his limbs became more and more mechanical. There was a flash of green and standing in his place was Clockwork.

“Ben what are you-?” Rook was silenced by a wave of Ben’s hand as the key on top of his head began to turn. The room around them turned green and suddenly they were all back in time.

“Charmcaster!” Gwen cried in surprise, staring at her former rival.

True enough Hex was comforting his niece before turning on his heel and firing an attack at a nearby wall. A shape detached and transformed into a very familiar but somewhat twisted face.

“Albedo.” Ben snarled, watching as his doppelganger said something to Hex, leading to two of the amalgams smashing through the window. The assembled heroes watched enraptured as Hex fought off the monsters and then turned on Albedo nearly beating him when a sharp blade suddenly shot across the room and impaled Hex through the chest. Gwen let out a horrified cry while the others flinched away. Ben turned around and pure hate filled his forms mechanical eyes.

“No.” he murmured, glaring up at the mangled yet still impressive form of Vilgax before him. The time wraith payed him no mind as he left Hex drop the ground and then rounded on Charmcaster. Albedo knelt down and snatched Hex’s staff from his hand and stood next to Vilgax as he knelt down in front of their captive and began to show her something wrapped in his remaining fist when suddenly and seemingly against Ben’s will the vision halted. It then shattered into a million glittering motes of green light and was replaced by the current desolate state of the Tower.

“Vilgax...is alive.” Gwen choked out, “He killed Hex, and took Charmcaster!”

“But why?” Kevin asked, putting a consoling hand on his girlfriend's shoulder.

“Does it matter?” Ben snapped, his hands clenched in hard fists, “Vilgax is back and we need to put him down once and for all! Before he kills someone else.”

“But he could be anywhere.” Rook pointed out, “How will we-”

He was cut off when the mostly undamaged Amalgam sprang to life and launched itself teeth first at the unexpecting Plumbers throat. Rook fell backwards his Omni-Tool the only thing keeping the ravening beast from biting into his throat.

Clockwork marched forward and grabbed the creature by the back of it;s now writhing neck. The ooze squelched under his fingers as he ripped the beast of his friend with a mighty tug and then turned it to face him.

“Tennyssson.” The creature rasped, it’s voice slick and menacing.

“Where is Vilgax.” Ben said, glaring back at the beast as it tried to bite into his metal flesh with little success.

The creature responded with a guttural hiss and tried to bit him once again. Ben grimaced and slammed the creature to the floor using his impressive weight to keep it pinned, “Gwen!”

“What?!” She cried, taking a step towards the writhing pair.

“Read it’s mind, sense it’s mana! Anything!” Ben yelled, “If this thing is Malware then it will still have a connection to the part stuck to Vilgax. It’s our only chance to find him!”

Gwen nodded, her eyes glowing pink as she used her magic to rip into the creatures addled mind and pry out the piece of information she was looking for. With a hard smile she then crushed the creature's head in a pink vise, ending it before it could bite into Ben’s more vulnerable face.

Ben sat up, wiping the black-and-red sludge off his face before transforming back to human, “That was...disgusting.”

“Sorry.” Gwen apologized, giving her cousin a hand-up, “On the bright side though I learned where Vilgax is.”

A dark smile crossed Ben’s face, “Good, I’m finishing this. Today.”

“We’re with you.” Rook said, readying his Omni-tool, while Kevin just nodded his agreement, hands still wrapped protectively around Gwen’s shoulders.

“No, Rook I need you to head back to HQ. Tell Grandpa Max what’s coming.”

“What will you do?” Rook asked.

“We,” Ben said, gesturing at Gwen, Kevin and himself, “Are going to meet Vilgax. Head on.”

**And cliffhanger! I’m getting good at those, don’t worry though next chapter will be all action all the time! And no cliffhanger I promise *snickers* So yeah I added Jack….why I don’t know it just kind of happened. But hey who doesn’t love good old Jack Harkness! Except for Gwen of course.**


	3. A Shattered Dream Part III

**And welcome back to Infinity! I do not own MCU or Ben 10 (Though, considering how the reboot is looking, I wish I did). Italics are flashbacks, and emphasis (Brackets are telepathy )So as with the previous two chapters this one will indeed divert considerably away from Evermore’s original canon, and it will be considerably longer than the last two chapters, so sit back, relax and enjoy the Dream.**

**Infinity Chapter III**   
**A Shattered Dream Part III**

**Stonehenge, June 19th, 10:00 EDT**

A flash of pink light preceded Ben, Kevin and Gwen appearance next to the ancient monument. Ben took in the ancient standing stones for several seconds, before marching forward.

“So where are they?” Ben asked impatiently, his eyes scanning the area suspiciously.

“They should be here,” Gwen answered, staring at his worriedly, “Ben do you even have a plan for when we find them?”

“Yeah, we’re going to free Charmcaster, recapture Albedo and then I’m going to put Vilgax down for good.” Ben growled, his fists shaking slightly.

“That’s not really a plan.” Kevin noted, shrugging off the dark look Ben gave him, “Besides you and I both know every time we think Vilgax is down for the count he just comes back, what’s going to change this time?”

“This time?” Ben queered, activating the Omnitrix and choosing the first alien he saw. His skin turned a light tan as he began to grow taller before he was finally replaced with Humungousaur, “I’m not leaving anything up to chance, no spacing, no explosions, no supposedly inescapable prisons, it all ends today.”

What neither of the others noticed however was the subtle black shading that began to fill his eyes.

He stomped around for several seconds before suddenly lashing out, nearly demolishing one of the standing stones in his fury.

“Ben!” Gwen cried, glaring up at him, “What’s wrong with you?”

Ben blinked, seemingly surprised at his own actions, “Sorry I just...lost control for a second.”

“Don’t worry, Tennyson we’ll get him.” Kevin reassured, staring around at the standing stones, “If we knew exactly where they are. I mean you’d think I twenty-foot tall squidman would stand out.”

Gwen’s eyes flashed pink, though again the faintest hint of black appeared for barely a second before vanishing, “They’re...underneath us!”  
“What do you mean?” Humungousaur asked, staring down at her surprised.

“I mean they are literally under our feet.” Gwen said, her eyes widening slightly, “I can sense Malware’s twisted energy deep below ground.”

“Stand back.” Ben remarked, slapping the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, replacing Humungousaur with Armodrillo, “I’ll make us a way down.”

“Wait!” Gwen yelled, her eyes still pink as she stared around at the standing stones around them, “There’s no need. I think...I think I can open a way down.”

“Open a way down how?” Kevin asked, his eyes scanning the monoliths for any detail of alien tech, “I don’t see anything reminiscent of a DNA scanner or a recognition system?”

“Correct,” Gwen said, her eyes gaining the black tint once again, “The path down is a little more discreet.”

Her hands igniting with pink energy, she lifted her arms and began making wild gestures in the air. For several seconds nothing happened, before suddenly the henge erupted into a cacophony of rainbow-colored light. The light began to coalesce around the center of the henge, before it snapped outward with an audible crack. That crack was followed by a low rumble as Stonehenge itself began to shift, uprooting the ground around it as the separate standing stones began to realign themselves with each other until the formed a somewhat spiral staircase pattern. The rumbling increase as the stones then began to sink into the ground revealing a complete staircase that lead deep into the earth beneath the henge.

“Way to go babe.” Kevin said, catching Gwen as she stumbled slightly.

“Yeah, nice job Gwen. Ben said, transforming back into his normal self, “Let’s go.”

With that the trio descended the staircase, missing the light at the center of henge suddenly turn an impossibly deep black color.

For the first several minutes the descent was fairly peaceful, of course that ended rather quickly when several amalgams detached from the ceiling, taking the heroes by surprise. Gwen managed to turn one into a pile of slag and glowing rock with an impressive blast of pink fire, while Kevin shattered the second’s head with a bronze covered fist courtesy of some change in his pocket. Ben meanwhile dodged backwards, transforming as he went his skin becoming crystalline. A second later Diamondhead was standing in his place, and the final amalgam earned itself a crystal shard right through the eye.

Ben stared down at the dead amalgam and shuddered slightly, as red and black liquid began to pour from its open jaws, “I still don’t understand how they turned Malware into...that?”

“His mana is even more corrupted then it was originally.” Gwen said, bending down next one Kevin had decapitated, “His mind...it’s almost gone. All he feels now if a hunger and a need to follow Vilgax’s orders.”

“Let’s get moving.” Ben remarked, turning back to normal. He looked down at the remains of his enemy one last time before continuing down the steps, the others only a pace behind him.

They eventually reached the bottom of the stairs finding a forked path before them. Ben turned to face the others with a grim expression.

“I’ll go left, you guys head right, keep in contact with the comms alright.” He said, walking off without any further direction. Gwen and Kevin stared at him for several seconds, then headed down their respective tunnel.

* * *

 

Ben walked in silence for what felt like hours until he suddenly found himself in a large open chamber. As he walked in he noticed what looked to be a rather detailed mural that covered most of the opposite wall.

The leftmost side depicted what looked to be seven women, each holding a small stone above their head. The largest was colored a brilliant white and was wreathed in what looked like clouds. To her left was a slightly smaller harsh red figure, who seemed to be surrounded by red waves, while beside her was a soothing orange figure with a starburst covering her chest, and next to her was a light yellow figure with a starburst around her head. To the right of the white figure was a cold green figure surrounded in tick marks that reminded ben of a clock, her neighbor was colored a deep blue and was surrounded by stars while the final figure was a lustrous purple that was surrounded by flames.

The next picture showed the woman facing off against a group of seven faceless figures, a miniscule green creature, a skeletal being holding a large scythe, a man with great ram horns, a man stepping out of a swirling blue portal, a woman surrounded in pink, a giant with bruised purple skin, and indistinct grey figure who was following the others at a much slower pace.

The next mural depicted the seven new figures victorious each holding a stone in their hands. The green creature held the white stone in his hand, the reaper holding the yellow stone reverently in his skeletal palm, the horned man held the blue stone close to his chest, at the center of the portal sat the green stone, the man nowhere in sight while the orange wreathed woman cupped the red stone in both hands, the giant held the purple stone above his head and the grey figure had pressed the orange stone to his forehead.

The second to last drawing showed the giant suddenly turning against his fellows, grabbing the white stone as well as the purple, his body suddenly becoming wreathed in black.

What followed next could only be explained as war. One that seemed to tear the entire universe in two. At it’s center the giant and an army of abominations facing off against his former fellows, each at the head of their own army. The final piece of the drawing showed the giant being cast into a deep pit while his fellows stood above, though falling with him was the white stone, a hint of black beginning to overtake it.

The final drawing showed the remaining six going their separate ways, leaving the white gem alone, though it was now wreathed in a dark black, that seemed to be overcoming the white. Above them all however hung a golden gauntlet, that each figure seemed to not be able to look at.

“What is this?” Ben wondered allowed, reaching for his comms, “Hey Gwen I think your going to want to come see this.”

“What is it?” she asked, her voice crackling over the comms.

“It’s a mural...depicting a group of people fighting over a bunch of rocks.” Ben stated flatly, “I don’t exactly understand what it all means-”

“Of course you don’t.” a snide voice remarked causing Ben to freeze, and whirl around to face the intruder. He found himself glaring at his own face, though about five years younger with stark white hair.

“I however understand the meaning quite well, now that my eyes have been opened to the truth.” Albedo remarked, a smug grin plastered across his face.

“Ben what is it?” Gwen asked.

“It’s Albedo he’s, Ow!” Ben ripped his comm out of his ear as it began to spark and smoulder.

  
“Oh sorry.” Albedo deadpanned, smirking as he put the small remote away, “Did that hurt?”

“What are you doing here Albedo?” Ben asked, his hand twitching towards the Omnitrix, “The last time you worked with Vilgax he hung you out to dry, literally.”

“I’m not working with Vilgax.” Albedo said, pulling off his goggles to reveal solid black eyes, “I’m doing something so much greater than serving that old squid.”

“What happened to your eyes?!” Ben asked, taking a step back.

“As I said Tennyson, my eyes have been opened.” Albedo said, his face suddenly elongating as he rapidly changed into XLR8 and then evolved. His jaw elongated into a fanged mouth, while the large claws grew into one razor sharp blade, his legs grew larger and the sphere between his toes transformed into a circular blade, while spines erupted along his spine going all the way down his tail which now ended in a lethally sharp needle thin point.

Ben quickly activated the Omnitrix, and slammed down the face plate. His body was enveloped in green light as his body shrunk.

“Jury Rigg!” Ben yelled, before looking down at the Omnitrix, “Really four years later and you still feel like playing jokes?”

“Perfect.” Albedo growled, suddenly shooting forward his blades poised to remove Ben’s head.

* * *

 

“Ha!” Kevin laughed, smashing another one of the amalgams aside with a hammer, before bringing it down onto the creature's head turning it into a mashed pile of metal and mechamorph, “Man I’ve missed this. My blood hasn’t been running this hot since Valentine’s Day!”

“Kevin!” Gwen snapped, her face going scarlet. Her embarrassment however didn’t stop her from turning three other amalgams into piles of melting slag.

“What it’s not like they’re going to tell anyone?” Kevin joked, shattered another amalgam against a wall with a solid punch.

Gwen gave him a flat look, before launching a lightning bolt right past his left ear, causing an amalgam’s head to erupt with a violent spatter.

“Whoa!” Kevin yelled, jumping to the side, “Wasn’t that a little close?”

“I wasn’t aiming at the monster.” Gwen said sweetly, before turning a corner. Kevin followed her his bravado a bit stunted only to immediately bump into her.

“Gwen what’s wrong?” Kevin asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. She only shook her head and pointed in front of her. Standing with her back to them was Charmcaster, she was standing completely still, her head cocked the side as if listening to something.

“Charmcaster!” Gwen hissed, stepping towards her rival cautiously, “Are you alright?”

“Gwen?” Charmcaster asked, not turning around, “Is that you?”

“Yes, we came to get you out of here.” Gwen assured, taking another step forward, while Kevin stayed back making sure none of the amalgams would catch them by surprise.

“Is that so?” Charmcaster remarked, whirling around to reveal she was holding Hex’s staff and disturbingly that her eyes were solid black.

“What?! What happened to you?” Gwen asked, her senses suddenly bombarded on all sides with a malevolent presence that seemed to have taken over Charmcaster’s mind.

“She opened my eyes.” Charmcaster said reverently, “She can open yours too if you like.”

Charmcaster suddenly leveled the staff at Gwen and fired a blast of energy from it. Gwen managed to dodge out of the way but the unaware Kevin ended up shot directly in the back. He fell to the ground with a loud crash. Gwen whirled around to make sure he was okay and was caught unaware as two amalgams dropped from the ceiling separating her from her boyfriend.

She prepared to turn the creatures into a pair of craters when a burst a black energy crashed into her back. She immediately began to feel weak as if she hadn’t slept in days. She stumbled slightly, turning to face Charmcaster how had raised the Staff of Ages over head.

“She beckons.” Charmcaster muttered, bringing the staff down against Gwen’s head with a sickening crack, knocking her unconscious “And I follow.”

She then cast a spell that revealed the bare wall she had been facing was only an illusion and walked through one one the amalgams following close behind with Gwen draped over it’s misshapen shoulder.

Kevin turned over his strength returning and watched in horror as Gwen was carried away, he tried to push himself to his feet, and raised a hand after her.

“Gwen!” he yelled, managing to pushing himself up to his knees.

Charmcaster turned at his yell and gave him a cold smile, she snapped her fingers and turned away as the tunnel behind her began to collapse in on itself.

Kevin rolled out of the way of the cave in, and found himself surrounded by at least thirty of the amalgams, which collectively let out a rasping hiss.

“Try me.” Kevin muttered, both hands turning into large spiked maces.

* * *

 

Ben barely managed to dodge out of the way of Albedo’s attack, Jury Riggs jumper gaining a long thin tear from the incredibly quick slash.

Ben glared up at his doppelganger who was clearly toying with him, XLR8 had moved faster than that in an unevolved state...this form well he doubted he would only have a tear in his shirt if Albedo had been attacking him in earnest.

“I believe you are at a disadvantage Tennyson.” Albedo pointed out, scrapping the long blade along with wall, creating an ear wrenching screech.

“You sure about that?” Jury Rigg asked with a gleeful smirk. He then punched the Omnitrix symbol, and twisted. Four prongs embedded into his stomach, and his entire form was surrounded in a green sphere.

Albedo flash stepped towards him and slashed at the bubble only for the blade to slam against a muscly purple fist. Albedo’s eyes widened considerably as another massive fist came out of the sphere and slammed into his body, sending him careening into the opposite wall.

“Ultimate Jury Rigg!” Two voices cried out, one deep and reminiscent of a cockney accent, the other high pitched almost feminine with a hint of a posh British lilt.

Albedo shook his head, clearing his blurry vision. He glared at the figure, no figures across form him with unbridled hate.

Where Jury Rigg once stood two figures had appeared. Albedo’s assailant was nearly ten feet tall, with thick purple skin, massive arms, a pit-bull like face with a large misshapen nose and small green eyes. It was dressed in a pair of black overalls, a small green vest and black finger-less gloves. It stood hunched like a gorilla using its massive forearms to support its body. On its back was a large black basket, in which sat another figure.

It had light pink skin, slightly atrophied arms and legs, an oversized cranium a thin pointed nose and large expressive green eyes. It wore a green overcoat, a small black top hat, and white pants. A smooth smile crossed the smaller beings face.

“As you can clearly ascertain,” The Brain stated matter-a-factly, “I asked Azmuth, the actual greatest mind in five galaxies mind you, to add the evolution feature to the Omnitrix some time ago. Just in case I ever needed to…how did I put it?

“Go big, go home.” The Brawn finished, earning a pat on the head from his partner.

“Yes very good Brawn.” Brain said, a grin crossing his face, “Let’s go big shall we?”

“He He He.” Brawn laughed, standing up to his full height and cracking his knuckles expectantly, “Break time.”

“Indeed.” Brain said, leaping off of his partner’s back as it suddenly charged at Albedo who despite his great speed wasn’t prepared for the sudden attack. Brain meanwhile started fiddling with the broken comm, it’s eyes glowing a dull green.

The Brawn crashed through the wall, tossing Albedo to the ground of the tunnel beyond. Albedo grunted hard before flash stepping out of the next attack. He began flashing back and forth slashing at the Brawn intermittently but not seeming to do more then leave minor scratches rather than the deep cuts he was seeking.

The Brawn let out an irritated roar after missing Albedo for about the fiftieth time and suddenly lashed out shattering the ground beneath them into gravel. Albedo stumbled, narrowly missing a stalactite through the brain. His good luck failed however when the Brawn grabbed hold of UXLR8’s tail, ignoring the spines entirely. The behemoth then proceeded to smash Albedo into every available surface. Eventually it stopped tossing the bloody and nearly unconscious Albedo to the ground, where he transformed back into his human form.

“Admirable job.” The Brain said, coming around the corner. He stared down at Albedo for several seconds, “It appears that we are done here, come let us find out companions and stop Vilgax once and for all.”

“Okay.” Brawn said, picking up his partner with incredible care for a being so strong and placed him in the basket on his back.

The pair managed to make it several minutes before finally finding Kevin under heavy fire from what appeared to be a new form of amalgam, all of which had a large repeater cannon replacing one of their arms.

The duo charged only for the Omnitrix to time out at that moment, sending Ben careening to the ground.

“Really.” Ben muttered at the Omnitrix, looking up at the assembled amalgams, half of which were now pointing their blasters at him.

An energy blast nearly took Ben’s head off as he leapt over a collapsed stone column. Ducking behind it, he breathed in deeply before glancing to his side where Kevin sat his stone covered face a hard grimace. They were trapped in a dead end stone tunnel, deep underground, with at least fifty amalgams blasting away at their position.

“You really did it this time Tennyson.” Kevin muttered, flinching as a laser-bolt grazed the stone next to his head.

“Seriously?” Ben fired back, scrolling through his choice of aliens.

“Yes, you suggested going in guns blazing.” Kevin remarked, jabbing his finger over his shoulder at the swarming amalgams charging towards them, “And like usual we ended up the creek! Gwen’s captured, you're running on empty and I’ve got nothing but stone to absorb without risking getting riddled with holes!”

Ben made to retort when an amalgam smashed through the pillar they were hiding behind, slamming them both to the ground. Another leapt onto Kevin and began pummeling him mercilessly while the original grabbed Ben by the neck and slammed him into a pillar.

His vision immediately blurred, though he managed to make out the metallic fist coming towards his face just before everything went black.

The amalgams stopped their assault almost immediately as the bloodied and bruised Albedo limped around the corner, his face set in a determined scowl.

“Bring them.” He spat, his black eyes burning with unbridled contempt.

**Beneath Stonehenge, June 21st, 23:01 EDT**

Ben woke up slowly, his eyes clouded and his mind addled. Where was he? How much time had passed? He looked around catching sight of Gwen and Kevin, who were also glaring around at their location with trepidation. All of their arms were chained above their heads, though both Gwen and Kevin’s shone with dark energy stopping them from using their respective abilities. They were in a massive cave, and at the very center was a pedestal seeming made of pure obsidian. Kneeling before it was a massive cloaked figure, who looked up when they felt Ben’s eyes upon them.

“Tennyson.” A cold voice croaked, “You finally awaken.”

“Vilgax.” Ben growled, glaring up at the once powerful warlord. Now well...Vilgax looked more like a hermit then a warlord, a long black cloak hung over his body, though Ben could clearly make out the scarred and pitted armor beneath. Vilgax’s face was a mess of scars, several of his tentacles even ending in charred stumps. However the massive quivering tentacle that had replaced his right arm caught most of it’s attention. That and the fact that just like Albedo Vilgax’s eyes had changed to a dark soulless black, though they still glinted with the searing hot hatred then Ben had grown accustomed to.

“Today is that last time we will be seeing each other Tennyson.” Vilgax remarked, looming over the chained hero, “In this life or the next.”

Ben sneered up at his oldest enemy, “I doubt I’d be seeing much of you in the afterlife anyway.”

“Always so brave, ever prepared with some witty remark.” Vilgax muttered, “And yet even you will falter before Her.”

“Her who?” Ben spat.

“She who pulled me from the void, she who remade Malware into not just my armor, but the most loyal servant I could have hoped for, she who brought me Albedo and set me on the path of the young spell-weaver. She who will finally allow me to achieve my Dream.”

“How poetic.” Ben remarked sarcastically, “But you still haven’t told me who she is.”

“Oh do not worry you shall meet her soon enough.” Vilgax remarked, cryptically, “But first she must be appeased.”

He then marched towards Gwen looming over her, “Turn into your other form.”

“Why would I do that!” Gwen yelled, glaring up at the alien.

“Because, if you don’t,” Vilgax whispered menacingly, pointing at Kevin with his good hand, “Your mate will die.”

As if on cue, Albedo appeared next to Kevin in his evolved Kincerelean form, his blade positioned across Kevin’s throat.

“Don’t.” Kevin remarked, smirking at Albedo, “Their bluffing.”

“I never bluff.” Vilgax remarked, not bothering to turn around to look at him, his eyes locked on Gwen’s face, “And I do not like to repeat myself. Take your other form!”

“Don’t listen Gwen!” Kevin and Ben yelled simultaneously, only for both to suddenly earn long cuts across their faces, before Albedo reappeared next to Kevin replacing the blade across his neck.

“Do it.” Vilgax, warned his cold eyes burrowing into hers, “Or you will watch him die.”

Gwen stayed silent for several seconds, seconds which Vilgax took as a refusal. He nodded at Albedo who raised his blade to drew back his blade to remove Kevin’s head.

“Stop!” Gwen cried, her skin peeling away to reveal her true form. Glowing pink tears tracked down her face, “Please.”

Albedo lowered his blade, while Vilgax reached out surprisingly gently and wiped one of her tears from her face. Then just as quickly Albedo raced forward cutting a small line across Gwen’s face, earning a cry of pain.

“You son of a bitch!” Kevin roared, straining against his bounds.

Vilgax meanwhile ignored his outburst and turned towards Charmcaster how until this point had stood unnoticed by the trapped heroes, “Bring Her here.”

Charmcaster nodded, and stepped towards the pedestal, the other joined her Albedo smearing the blood of the three heroes on the surface of the pedestal while Vilgax did the same with the tear.

“There is a legend,” Vilgax began sensing the confusion of the imprisoned heroes, “Of a being who will grant you wildest wish and make real your craziest dream. My Dream has always been the end of you Tennyson and thanks to you I have found Her.”

At that moment Charmcaster reached into her back and when she drew her hand back out with was wreathed in a fathomless black light. Then almost reverently she help out her hand above the pedestal and opened her clenched fist. Out of it fell a perfectly ovoid gemstone, blacker than anything the assembled heroes had ever seen. It let out a light chiming noise as it made contact with the pedestal. Then silence filled the cave as everyone seemed to hold their breath.

The silence was cut off by a sudden and violent fit of laughter that startled even Vilgax. He whirled around fuming as Ben continued to laugh unabated.

“The big and dangerous She is a stone?!” Ben asked, trying to regain composure, mirth filled tears pouring down his cheeks, “God spacing you must have done even more damage then I thought!”

“You dare mock her!” Charmcaster yelled, leveling her Uncle’s staff at him. Albedo kept from yelling but he looked equally upset at Ben’s flippant remarks.

“So Vilgax went nutty and he decided to brainwash the both of you.” Ben remarked, smirking at the clearly fuming villains.

“You saw the murals yourself Tennyson.” Vilgax remarked, undaunted by his taunts, “And soon enough you will know the truth.”

“Yeah about that.” Ben remarked, his smirk suddenly gaining a hard edge, “Did you really think I came here without a backup plan?”

He then opened his hand to reveal the comm that the Brain half of Ultimate Jury Rigg had been fiddling with while his other half beat Albedo into the dirt, or stone as would have it. He had managed to turn the comm into a beacon, which he pressed.

“Surprise.” Ben remarked, as Plumbers began teleporting in all around the cave. A orange blaster bolt suddenly fired from higher up shattering Ben’s restraints. Ben fell to the ground a broad smile crossing his face.

“You see, Gwen,” Ben began to explain, pointing at his cousin as she too was released, “Figured out that Malware was linked directly to your brain meaning anything he heard or saw, you heard or saw. So we flubbed the details of the mission a bit. Instead of Rook just going to warn Grandpa Max, he was going to wait for our signal and then come in with the Plumbers guns blazing as would have it.”

He shot a salute at Rook who stood above them on a perch alongside several other Plumbers. Rook saluted back and then launched one last bolt freeing Kevin from his restraints.

“So in short,” Ben remarked, activating the Omnitrix, “It’s Hero Time!”

**And cliff hanger. Sorry, sorry but hey I can say that most definitely the next chapter will be the end of the prologue. Which indeed means that Ben will be in the Marvel universe by the end. So feel free to guess who those people depicted in the mural are, some should be pretty obvious but others well...they're a bit more mysterious. The name of the story itself is a bit of a give away. Also make sure to hit up the poll I created to see who will be Ben’s romantic interest, the results have been quite...unexpected shall we say. I might be taking a short break to catch up on my Young Justice story but don’t worry it will definitely not be a hiatus. VerBeek signing off!**


	4. Nightmare

**And welcome back to Infinity! I do not own MCU or Ben 10. Italics are flashbacks, and emphasis (Brackets are telepathy). And for the gripping conclusion of this dre---NIGHTMAR** E!

**Infinity IV**   
**Nightmare**

_“So in short,” Ben remarked, activating the Omnitrix, “It’s Hero Time!”_

Ben disappeared in a pillar of green light, his form rapidly swelling. The assembled Plumbers took that as the signal to open fire, peppering the remaining amalgams with holes, several which began counter-firing while several more raced forward to face the galactic agents head on.

One leapt at Rook Blonko, who slide beneath, his Omnitool’s blade opening the monster from sternum to stomach. It collapsed into a twitching heap, while the Magister continued running heading for Kevin who was barely standing his own against Albedo who was striking at him ferally in his Rath form.

“Kevin!” Rook yelled, reaching into one of the pouches of his belt, bringing his hand up and then flinging a small green crystal towards the cornered Osmosian.

Kevin’s face lit up with a confident smirk, as he leapt into the air and caught the crystal in his hands. The smirk grew as the crystal coated his skin, just as he slammed back to the ground cracking the stone slightly.

“You think that little rock will save you!” Albedo roared, punching Kevin in the face only for searing pain to erupt as his hand broke on contact. The Galvan screamed before transforming back to normal, his mangled hand clutched close to his chest.

“Not just any little rock, Taydenite, ” Kevin quipped, a blade growing over his right hand, “So what was that about you cutting off my head again?”

Albedo blanched, and began to back away, the black light in his eyes disappearing for several seconds, before coming back as strong as before, he transformed again changing into Diamondhead and attacked a snarl written across his face.

  
Vilgax roared, cutting down several suicidally brave Plumbers that had gotten to close, before turning to Charmcaster, “Begin the incanta-”

He never finished his sentence as a white metal fist collided with his face, knocking him across the cavern.

“Eyes on me villain!” Atomix yelled, charging after his fallen foe, “Our age old battle ends this day!”

“Agreed.” Vilgax choked, lunging to his feet to catch Ben’s incoming punch on the flat of his blade-tendril, “But it will be on my terms! Spell-weaver!”

Charmcaster barely nodded before drawing her staff, the head pulsing with black light. She closed her eyes and began to softly chant, in a language not heard since the dawn of the universe.

“She beckons, and we must follow!” Charmcaster cried, gesturing to the gem, which rattled softly on the surface of the pedestal, “Eldest Infinity, Sister Wish, Mother of Dreams, take our gift, the blood of change, the tears of the soul, drink deep and rise!”

The gem suddenly flashed to life with cold, black light as it seemed to drink the blood and glowing mana placed upon the pedestal. The stone juddered slightly and a raspy gasp filled every mind in the room, bringing the fight to a short pause, before it was met again with more savagery than before, as Plumber’s suddenly fought the need to charge in against their superior foe while Ben was consumed with the urge to tear Vilgax’s wretched tentacle from him.

The stone then rose into the air, spiraling as black vapor began to pour from it filling the room with a feeling of inescapable, primal cold.

Charmcaster stopped in her work, awe spread across her face before the stone abruptly let out a pulse of black energy, sending her careening across the ground the Staff of Ages splintering in her grasp.

Gwen, her normally vibrant pink form, dulling slightly under the oppressive light of the Gem, managed to shake free of her stupor, just as Rook, reached her his golden eyes filled with an unusual amount of fear.

  
“Miss Gwen, are you okay?” Rook asked, nonchalantly firing a bolt into an amalgam that had thought to take him from behind.

Gwen shook her head, pointing towards the gem which was now firing tendrils of black energy into the mass of Plumbers and Amalgams indiscriminately, turning whatever it touched into black vapor that was absorbed into the churning cloud of mist that swirled around it.

“The gem...I know Ben thought it was just a fluke...but ever since we got here this oppressive presence has been weighing down on me. It’s centered on the Gem...and it’s only growing stronger.”

“Would one of your spell’s work?” Rook asked, aiming a pot-shot at Albedo, giving Kevin some breathing room as he took care of several amalgams that had joined the fight.

“I suppose...but I don’t have my…” Gwen was cut off, when Rook softly placed her spell book into her hands.

“Ben told me to come prepared.” Rook intoned, with an uncharacteristic smirk, tapping the large bundle tied to his back, “You take care of the Stone, and I will help Kevin and Ben take down their respective combatants.”

“Go.” Gwen said, already flipping through pages of her tome, looking for something, anything that could contain the rapidly growing cloud of vapor and energy surrounding the cloud. She was startled out of her focus however when a cold hand wrapped around her ankle. Purple fire came within an inch of burning her assailant to a crisp before she realized it was Hope, her eyes no longer clouded with darkness, her other hand clutching the remains of her Uncle’s shattered staff.

“Gwen?” Hope asked, staring up at her, her eyes flickering slightly, “I’m...I’m sorry.”

Gwen knelt beside her, as several Plumbers ran to assist, gunning down any amalgams that got too close.

“Don’t apologize...It was Vilgax and this thing, it wasn’t you.” Gwen said comfortingly, cupping her enemy turned grudging friend’s cheek, as tears began to pour down face.

“No, it’s all my fault, Ledgerdomain, Hex, the Gem,” Charmcaster spat, punching the ground angrily with her free hand, “I should have come to you sooner, asked for help...but the voices told me not too.”

“Voices?” Gwen asked, taken aback, “What are you-”

Charmcaster raised a finger to her lips, silencing her, “That doesn’t matter now, what matters is helping you fix my mistakes...the only way I can.”

Without warning Charmcaster lunged forward, kissing Gwen on the lips. Gwen froze utterly shocked as nearly all of Hope’s remaining magical power poured into her.

As they pulled apart, Gwen stared at Hope, floored, while the latter just smiled coyly before pushing the remains of Hex’s staff into her hands.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a while,” Charmcaster muttered, her consciousness fading, “I wonder if Kevin will be jealous?”

Gwen merely stared down at the unconscious mage, before turning to a nearby Plumber, who was looking at her with a fittingly amused look.

“Look after her?” Gwen, choked out, stepping to her feet book and broken staff in hand.

“Of course Miss Tennyson.” The Plumber responded.

Gwen nodded her thanks, before marching towards the Gem, the Staff reassembling as she walked, spell book flickering with a bright golden light.

“Locorum!” Gwen cried, golden energy flying from the staff, forming a sphere around the pitch black vortex that now encompassed the Gem.

Across the room, Ben and Vilgax were still locked in combat, the former leaking green energy from several cuts while the latter had several new burn marks and bruises marking his body.

“She is coming Tennyson!” Vilgax roared, his blade cutting a shallow line across Atomix’s face, “Nothing will stop her! Not you! Not your pretentious cousin! Not Anyone! This is to be your end!”

“Ten years, we have been fighting this fight villain.” Ben responded, “And. Not. Once. Have. I. Lost!

He punctuated every blow with a punch, his hands glowing with atomic energy. Instead of crying out Vilgax merely laughed, aggressively shoulder checking Ben away.

“Yet I still stand!” Vilgax intoned, spreading his arms wide, “Every time you tried to end my life, I just came back stronger!”

“And uglier.” Ben snarked, a ball of energy forming between his hands, “Ready?”

“Ready for what, you ignorant child?!” Vilgax roared, charging at Ben, who dodged to the side revealing Rook standing on a ledge a Tachyon Cannon in his hands.

“I do not believe he was talking to you.” Rook quipped, pulling the trigger on the cannon just as Ben released the energy sphere from his hands. Both projectiles slammed into Vilgax, illuminating the cave for a brief second with a green cascade of light that outshone the gold of Gwen’s spell.

“Amazing shooting, friend Rook!” Atomix cried, stepping towards the smoke cloud that had followed their conjoined attack.

“Thank you, that should have-hcck” Rook’s comment ended in a hitching breath as Vilgax’s bladed appendage shot from the smoke and impaled him through the left side of his abdomen.

“Rook!” Ben cried, watching as his friend slumped to the side clutching his wound, he raced forward only for Vilgax’s normal hand to catch him by the neck and slam him to the ground.

“He’s just the first Tennyson!” Vilgax laughed, forming a flanged hammer to smash the hero in the face, “After I finish here, I am going to kill everyone you love! Starting with your Grandfather and ending only when every speck of Bellwood and Undertown are whipped off the face of this miserable fucking rock!”

  
“You bastard!” Ben yelled, a beam of energy firing from his mouth, burning more of Vilgax’s green skin to a blistered grey.

He then leapt to his feet and began firing more blasts of atomic energy with his hands, burning away much of Vilgax’s remaining armor and his cape. He then shoulder checked the former Warlord into a wall so hard that the ceiling began to crumple.

Ben looked up from his downed enemy to see several medics surrounding Rook, while Kevin dragged a mangled and unconscious Albedo to a corner next to Charmcaster, who he notriced for the first time was slumped unconscious.

“Sir!” One of the medics called, “The Magister’s still alive, but he need critical medical attention.”

“Get him out of here then!” Ben yelled back turning to the remaining Plumbers, “Get him-”

“She comes!” Vilgax suddenly yelled, startling everyone as he fired his tendril at the sphere Gwen had created, shattering it into millions of pieces.

“Get out of here!” Ben roared, directing the Plumbers to leave as he tackled Vilgax to the ground.

They took his direction, beams of blue light absorbing the remaining Plumbers as they disappeared, Rook’s group was the last to go as the clutched the young Magister between them.

Kevin knelt down next to Charmcaster and Albedo, planning to teleport away from them when a remaining amalgam suddenly took him from behind, slamming him to the ground and shattering the teleporter in the process.

“Damn!” Kevin cried, bisecting the beast in half before getting to his feet, “Guys teleporter's gone!”

“Gwen, get us out of here!” Ben yelled, using all his strength to pin Vilgax to the ground, fighting the sudden urge to finally end his mortal enemy with a vicious neck snap.

Gwen didn’t respond, her eyes locked on the gem which was slowly but surely being pulled towards her.

“What are you doing?” Kevin cried, forming a shield above Charmcaster and Albedo, as an arc of energy threatened to kill them both.

Gwen opened her mouth to respond, when the Gem suddenly lurched forward, connecting with Gwen’s brow. In that moment, everything changed.

Gwen screamed, a terrified, primal sound as black energy suddenly poured from her body encompassing the entire cavern, snaring onto amalgams, villains and heroes alike.

“Gwen!” Ben yelled, horrified when she turned towards him, her eyes glowing with the same black light.

“She beckons.” Gwen intoned, “And I follow.”

The last thing Ben heard as the world went black as Vilgax’s guttural laugh in his ear.

**Bronx, New York City, 23:57 EDT**

Ben woke up suddenly, his body aching from the cuts left over from his fight with Vilgax. He was alone...completely and utterly alone in a back alley in a city he didn’t quite recognize.

Ben painfully got to his feet, and looked around.

“Gwen?!” He called fearfully, “Kevin?!”

He raced around a corner and froze as he walked out into a small courtyard and found Gwen, back in her human form, her head down, long red hair obscuring her face as she looked down at her hands with rapt attention.

“Gwen?” Ben asked, approaching her cautiously, “Thank God I-”

His words died in his throat as Gwen looked up, revealing pitch black eyes and the stone sitting in the center of her forehead.  
“Who-what have you done to my cousin?” Ben asked, stepping back his hand reaching for the Omnitrix.

_“She invited me in.”_ Not-Gwen responded, her voice much deeper and sadder then Gwen’s had ever been, _“But I took too much.”_

“What?!” Ben snapped, a snarl growing on his lips, “What do you mean?”

“ _She was an Anodite.”_ The voice continued, as Gwen’s skin suddenly peeled away revealing her true form, though now its skin was blacker than the void between the stars while her eyes and hair changed to a deep, bloody red, _“All emotions, dreams, perfect host...I didn’t mean too.”_

“What are you?!” Ben yelled, “And where is Gwen?!”

The figure seemed to acknowledge his statement for a moment before suddenly teleporting directly in-front of him, before placing a hand to her temple, “ _Her dreams speak of you, loved like a brother, best friend, family...she’s scared. But don’t worry she will be safe inside.”_

“What are you-” A stopped as a finger colder than ice touched his lips.

_“You asked what I am.”_ The figure asked, her voice gaining a cutting edge, _“Many names I have, Eldest Infinity, Sister Wish, Mother of Dreams...but Sisters called me Dream. Long time ago...was happy, safe loved. Dreamt things and they appeared, made wishes true, then They came, beings from my future and your past, came to take us and make us theirs.”_

She paused, her eyes burrowing into his, and her suddenly felt more lost and sad that he had ever felt in his entire life. He slumped to the ground and watched as the air beside her began to shimmer, as strange blue crystals formed around her feat and as red energy swirled around her body.

“They succeeded.” Dream spat, the effects around her strengthening with each word, _“The Tinker took me...oh the dreams he had, beautiful, his wishes pure. And I was still happy. But then he stole me...The Mad Titan.”_

The effects around her tripled in power as Ben suddenly found himself suspended on the air, directly in front of Dream’s face.

  
_“His dreams were awful!"_ Dream cried, tears pouring down her face, _“All he wanted was Death! Used me to create monsters, tear the universe apart...and when he was cast down my beloved Tinker locked me away._

Ben watched in horror, as the Omnitrix was suddenly brought before her face, which caused her anger to peak again.

_“So much life...trapped away in such a small cage. Just like me. I was a Dream…”_   She said, holding her arms above her head causing the crystals, the energy and the strange shimmer to coalesce into a large sphere above her head, _“But now I will be a Nightmare the likes of which this Universe has never seen!”_

With that she slammed Ben into a nearby wall before releasing the sphere which floated into the air high, above the Bronx, a swirling mix of blue, red and green that drew the eyes of many late night drinkers, vagabonds and partiers. It stayed suspended in the air for several seconds before suddenly and aggressively exploding, cascading across the Bronx in an aggressive wave, demolishing buildings, turning asphalt to sand, trees to glass and releasing a blue vapor through the streets. The wave continued, warping and changing the landscape around it.

And in the very center of it all lay Ben, unconscious. Nightmare watched him several seconds before disappearing in a flash of dark purple light, a low laugh echoing across the cosmos as she set after her true mission.

The Omnitrix suddenly beeped to life, a Green Hologram of Ben appearing above the face-plate.

“Connection to Primus negated...trying to repair.” The hologram said, speaking to nothing, “Error. New Primus Protocol initiating, sampling host DNA...error Host DNA, polluted by unknown genetic anomaly, compensating, clean sample acquired. New Primus Initiative in effect."

The hologram disappeared, the face plate suddenly opening to reveal a small mosquito-like robot, it’s thorax distended with a glowing green liquid. The android took to the air, zipping away from Ben’s unconscious body.

The face plate close and the hologram popped back to life, revealing a scan of Ben’s internal organs and nervous system.

“Genetic Anomaly continues to spread throughout host’s body, major organ failure expected in twenty minutes unless better cohesion is achieved. Reforming, Host Preservation activated.

With that the Omnitrix seemed to melt into Ben’s skin, leaving only a faint hourglass mark on the back of his hand.

**Stark Mansion, Malibu, California 9:00 PT**

“So Ms Potts?” Tony Stark asked, smiling at his girlfriend playfully, “What will it be tonight?”

“Surprise me.” Pepper Potts purred, watching him walk towards her with a seductive smile. She was sitting his her legs crossed on the bed waiting for him to make the first move.

“Can do.” Tony smirked, making his way towards her only for a light British accented voice to suddenly break the romantic atmosphere.

“So sorry to interrupt you two,” JARVIS said politely, “But something has happened to the Bronx.”

“Don’t you mean in the Bronx?” Tony asked, slightly upset that his AI companion had ruined what had been looking to be a good night.

“No Sir,” JARVIS said, pulling up an image that showed a massive red dome of energy spreading across the Bronx area at a terrifying pace, shattering and warping building as it passed over them.

Tony froze for a second, before turning to Pepper, who nearly nodded her head in understanding, clearly terrified about what they had just seen transpire.

“Did you tell Banner?” Tony asked, racing down to the Armory.

“Yes, and he already left,” JARVIS said, a bit of humor entering his voice, “He said the Big Guy will meet you there.”

“Understood.”

Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were not the only ones alerted to the events occurring across the Bronx.

**Somewhere above the Atlantic Ocean**

Nicholas Fury, Director of SHIELD was surprised, and he absolutely despised being caught by surprise.

“Do we know who caused this?” He demanded, glaring at the screens before him showing the Dome, which was slowly grinding to a halt as it passed the Bronx Zoo.

“No, sir.” Maria Hill, his second in command responded, “The energy signatures we picked up don’t match any known HYDRA or AIM weapon. No does it appear to be non-terrestrial.”

Nick rubbed the bridge of his nose for a second before responding, “Get Coulson's team on this now. And can someone get this tub moving! I want us there yesterday people, let’s move!”

* * *

 

**Though the Event that people would soon be calling the Bronx Cataclysm, was Nightmare’s most visible assault, her actions would be felt across the world.**

**Prison’s weakened, allowing villains of all shapes and sizes to escape their bond’s.**

* * *

 

The dome of energy flicked above his head as he stumbled on, staring fervently around for something to eat. He was starving...he hadn’t eaten in so very, very long.

She had kept him in that cage for four years. _Four years!_ Without a single morsel, a scrap, a nibble, and he knew that if he didn’t eat something soon he would die. Simple as that.

A scream cut through his inner thoughts, a female scream. Mustering his strength he raced forward, trying to ignore that gnawing hunger in his gut a little longer. He rounded an ally and found a terrified woman trapped in a car while a strange monster savagely tried to get inside.

It was covered in this strange black-and-red liquid that quivered grotesquely every time it move. It had one misshapen arm that ended in a two-clawed pincer and long legs ending in warped talons. A single red eye sat above a mouth a sharp fangs that were currently gnashing at the trapped woman.

“Hey!” he yelled, his voice even raspier than before, drawing the creatures attention, “Get away from her!”

The creature turned, letting out a clicking snarl, before charging him, pincer raised to decapitate him. He braced himself, as the creature jumped and then leapt as well, his open palm, clutching the creature face. At first nothing seemed to happen, until the creature began to spasm and scream, as the twisted energy that kept it going was sucked from it. Cracks began to appear across the creature body, as he drank more and more, his body slowly but surely becoming strong. Finally he let the creature fall to the ground dead, though he didn’t seem to notice when part of the strange liquid stuck to his hand.

He approached the car, and motioned for the woman to step out, though she was clearly frightened by what he had done. She was young, maybe mid-twenties...a little older than her liked, but it would do.

“Th-thank you.” The girl muttered, stepping out of the car, though not brave enough to look at his cadaverous face.

“No.” He responded, taking her face in his hands, “Thank you.”

“What are you-” The girl slumped to the ground almost immediately as he drank in her life force, but unlike the creature, he left her alive.

“Thank you, very much.” Michael Morningstar said, his skeletal features beginning to recede as he picked up the girl and walked away with her, deeper into the hellscape he had woken up in.

* * *

 

**Being’s content to sleep through man’s achievements awoke at the sudden change to the world.**

* * *

 

In the Marianas Trench a King, not seen since the Second Great War awoke with a vengeance.

Underneath Scotland, an army long hidden away, awoke with a fiery spark.

And on the surface of Mars, a being who had long left Earth behind turned and watched the ensuing chaos, but his eyes didn’t seek the Dome but instead a tiny pinprick of emerald light, that held within it more life than it had ever thought possible.

**Six Days after the Bronx Cataclysm**

Dr. Curtis Connors was going to die, he could feel it. He had been staying late at the Reptile House, trying to gain more insight on his experiments when the Wave hit the Zoo, shattering glass, melting bars and mutating any animals it touched. Conner’s had gotten lucky or so he thought, he had barricaded himself in the office, surviving on what little food and water he had managed to scrounge together. But the food was gone, and the larger and more dangerous members of the Reptile House were free, and they too were lacking in food, if the terrifying sounds of fighting, hissing, snarling and tearing of meat was anything to go by. However that wasn’t all he had to fear, his remaining arm, God’s little joke he thought, was slowly but surely turning to stone, an effect of Terrigen, that much he knew. A death sentence, plain and simple, no cure, no way out.

“I’ll never seem them again.” Dr. Connors, muttered, slumping to the ground in despair, tears tracking down his cheeks slowly, “I should have stayed home.”

He drew a picture of his wife and child from his pocket, and kissed it softly, before staring at it solemnly, “Goodbye, Martha, Billy. I’m love you both so very much.”

“Why are you crying Mister?” A voice said, stunning him out of his despair. He looked up and to his surprise found himself face to face with a ten year old girl, with long brown hair, green eyes, and lightly tanned skin, she wore a long green and black dress, a black headband, green leggings that ended above her feet and no shoes.

“What-who-how are you here?” Connor’s stammered, taken aback by the girl’s sudden appearance, he was even more surprised however when he noticed her companion. Perched on the table next to them was a cat...a cat with blue fur, six limbs and four eyes.

“I must be hallucinating, lack of food and water is making me delirious.” Connors muttered turning away from the girl.

“You’re not hallucinating silly.” The girl said, resting a hand on his shoulder’s, “I’m here to help you?”

  
“Help me how?” Connors asked, turning to look in the girl’s eyes which turned a sudden solid green.

“I’m going to fix what’s broken,” she stated simply, “Make you good as knew...hmm maybe even a little better.”

He hand’s suddenly shone with bright emerald light that soon bathed his entire body. Nothing happened at first and then he felt his body begin to change growing stronger, larger, his missing arm returned and the stone on the other was replaced with thick tan scaled skin. He was becoming something utterly different, something alien.

**Ground Zero, Bronx Cataclysm, June 28th 10:00 EDT**

“Sir, we found something!” A SHIELD agent called out, racing into the slapped together base camp Coulson’s team had set up.

“What is it?” Coulson asked, looking up from the map on the table.

“We found a man sir,” The Agent said, slightly panicked, “And he's still alive.”

“Get Stark on the horn.” Coulson said, racing out of the tent with the Agent close behind, “He’ll want to see this.”

**And so ends the prologue, hope you liked it. The next chapter which will fully instate Ben in the Marvel Universe will be coming next week, optimistically. So whopper of a chapter I know, thought about making it too, but then my brain said FUCK IT, and so this was created. Yes Charmcaster kissed Gwen...don’t ask me why my brain and I sometimes have a conflict of interest, but I felt like Hope’s wanted to do that for a very, very long time. Some of you will have figure out who Nightmare is by now, if not well...It’s okay, it's kind of confusing to follow. Also I name dropped or hinted at a few important characters/enemies that Ben and the Avenger’s will be fighting or facing in the coming chapters, so get hyped for that. So...is that it, I think so, oh wait the Girl, is exactly who you think she is, don’t forget to leave a review because I absolutely love talking to you folks, hell just message me if you want, VerBeek signing off!**


	5. Brave New World Part I

**And welcome back to Infinity! I do not own MCU or Ben 10. Italics are flashbacks, and emphasis (Brackets are telepathy). I’m back y’all and boy are things about to kick off in a big way, because *drum roll* Ben will finally meet the Avengers, speaking of which you will automatically notice a big difference in the Team’s line up. A new day starts right now!**

**Infinity Chapter V**  
**Brave New World**

“We found a man sir,” The Agent said, slightly panicked, “And he's still alive.”

“Get Stark on the Horn.” Coulson said, racing out of the tent with the Agent close behind, “They’ll want to see this.”

**Three Months Later**

In the three months since the emergence of what New Yorker’s had began calling the “Dome” the city had been in a state of disarray and underlying panic, numerous eyes locked on the now thankfully immobile dome of energy. The National Government alongside SHIELD had placed the entire area under lock-down, building barricades and manned checkpoints both above and below the anomaly. Survivors arrived sporadically, and were often forced to undergo strenuous tests to make sure they hadn’t been overtly affected by the energies pervading “New Bronx”.

Tony’s eyes narrowed slightly as he soared overhead, “Any change JARVIS?”

“No,” the AI responded, scans of the energy field appearing across his armor’s HUD, “While the field may have stopped expanding, there are no hints of it diminishing in size.”

Tony let out a frustrated sigh, “Alright send everything we’ve got to Banner, also tell Nicky I’m on my way back.”

“At once sir.” JARVIS responded. Tony smirked before turning abruptly and taking off towards the New York Harbor, where SHIELD’s flagship the Helicarrier hovered, another slightly unwelcome addition the the New York skyline.

Stark made a beeline for the hanger bay, artfully dodging around a departing Quinjet, before landing in front of several bemused members of the landing crew. Tony’s armor opened, allowing him to step out of it shooting the crew a smug smile.

“JARVIS, you have the helm.” Stark quipped, the armor refiguring to it’s original form, “No joy rides okay.”

“Of course sir.” the AI responded, nodding the armor’s head in acknowledgement, before walking past the befuddled landing crew without even a second glance.

“Come on people this isn’t the first time you've seen this sort of thing.” A fatherly voice called, “Back to work.”

Stark turned, a wide smile crossing his face as he locked eyes with Coulson.

“Good timing,” Coulson said, “Fury was looking for you.”

* * *

 

Daisy Johnson aka Quake watched with a bemused expression as Fitz and Simmons bantered with their guests. One was of average height and build with bright slightly manic blue eyes and a bedhead of sandy blonde hair. His lab coat was a tad disheveled which he wore over a skin tight red-and-black suit covered with faintly glowing blue circuitry.

The other was a tad shorter and skinnier with warm slightly haunted brown eyes and curly black hair. He was dressed less outlandishly than his compatriot in a simple purple buttoned up shirt and tan dress pants.

Dr. Hank Pym, Dr. Bruce Banner and Fitzsimmons were currently engaged in a rapt conversation about the seemingly impossible composition of the energy that made up the “Dome”.

“This can’t be right.” Dr. Pym muttered critically, glaring at the information Stark had just provided Banner.

“But it is.” Bruce responded, “The energy levels are exactly the same as they were when the phenomenon occurred.”

“But there should be some form of energy bleed, a weakening of its structural integrity.” Pym expounded, looking at the others with trepidation.

“While I agree that there should be some form change in the Dome itself the more important factor is that we still don’t know who or what created the field in the first place.” Fitz pointed out.

Banner nodded, turning the hologram projector in the center of the table on. An overlay of the inside of the Dome was overlaid across the table. The Dome itself stretched from Highbridge in the West to Westchester Ave in the East and from the top of Bronx Park in the North down to the very tip of Ryker’s Island.

“I can’t even begin to wrap my head around what kind of technology would be needed to not only spark this kind of mutagenic reaction but also distribute it evenly across this entire area.” Banner noted, “AIM, HYDRA, the Ten Rings, the Watchdogs, none of them, not even pooling their resources have the capabilities to pull of something like this.”

“What about an Inhuman or Mutant?” Fitz pointed out, “After all we did find our John Doe at the epicenter of the Dome.”

“I already told you Fitz,” Simmons admonished, “Who ever he is our John Doe is not a Mutant nor an Inhuman, besides the amount of power needed to create this event outclasses anything we have seen from even Omega level Enhanced.”

“How is he?” Skye interjected, startling the enraptured scientists.

“Oh Daisy!” Jemma exclaimed, seemingly noticing her for the first time, “How long have you standing there?”

“Not long, it’s fun watching you guys brainstorm.” Daisy said with a half-smile, though she was rubbing her hands nervously, “So how is he?”

“He-oh the John Doe, despite the ‘attacks’ he’s completely healthy.” Simmons said, her eyes narrowing slightly, “Though his genetic structure continues to prove difficult.”

“I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” Daisy and Fitz said in unison causing the three colleagues to snicker lightly while their guests watched them with bemused expressions.  
“Alright I’ll leave you guys to it.” Daisy said awkwardly, clapping her hands together, “I’m just gonna go-”

She let the end of the sentence hang as she exited the room, Fitzsimmons watched her go and then shot each other worried looks.

“She’s going to go sit with him again isn’t she?” Fitz asked to no one in general.

“Yes,” Dr. Pym noted, though he hadn’t turned away from the hologram, “Though I must ask that we return to the matter at hand, I believe Dr. Banner was on the edge of a breakthrough.”

“Ah yes, sorry,” Banner noted, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassed, “As I was saying nothing on Earth as far as we know has the power or intelligence to create a weapon, if it even is a weapon anyway, of this magnitude.”

The manic light in Pym’s eyes brightened suddenly, “Extraterrestrials?”

“The truth is out there.” Fitz muttered softly, getting a funny look from his colleagues, “What?”

* * *

 

“I still can’t believe you tried to make us believe you were dead.” Stark admonished, narrowing his eyes slightly Coulson.

“Two things. One I really was good as dead for a short while there,” Coulson retorted, “And two Director Fury ordered me to keep my head down.”

“Oh so it was Fury’s grand idea, to try and hide you from me.” Stark quipped, “Why am I not surprised.”

“Tony I-” Coulson began to say before Tony cut him off.

“Don’t apologize Phil, I’m just glad you're alive.” Tony muttered sincerely, clapping the older man on the shoulder.

“So am I Stark.” Coulson said, returning the gesture.

“So enough sappy stuff.” Stark snarked, “How are the shields on the Dome holding up?”

  
“No problems so far.” Coulson answered, “What ever you and Banner cooked up seems to be keeping the radiation contained to the Dome itself.”

“Glad to be of service.” Stark muttered, absentmindedly snagging a muffin from a nearby Agent, while simultaneously slipping them a five dollar bill, “Any issues other than the Dome itself.”

“Well obviously the Watch Dogs are on the warpath, calling the Dome an affront to “human purity” Coulson muttered darkly, “They’ve been engaging our scout teams, and are trying to convince the people not mutated by the Dome to join their cause.”

“Great, always loved when Chihuahuas got too big for their britches.” Tony joked, though the humor didn’t reach his eyes, “What about the Enhanced front?”

Coulson let out a long suffering sigh, “Xavier is working with us for now, we know he doesn’t trust the Military, and considering their history I can’t really blame him. Fury has gone out of his way to explain that SHIELD is different, but the Professor still has his doubts. He offered to house any Mutants or Inhumans seeking education in their new abilities or just in need of a safe place to stay.”

“Understandable.” Tony remarked, “What about the Bird Lady and Captain Magnet?”

Coulson smirked slightly, “Miss Peregrine seems to be in line with the Professor’s line of thinking, though she is a bit more cordial thanks to the work you put in helping Dr. McCoy and Pym solve her little time issue. As for Magneto he’s been strangely silent though that could mean a whole manner of things, none of them good.”

Tony touched the comm in his ear, “JARVIS remind me later to start building an armor devoid of metal.”

“Of course sir.” The AI responded, “Placing it under distinction Mark 47.”

“So anything else I need to worry about?” Tony asked, turning back to Coulson.

“Yes actually, the day after your shields went up we received a letter.” Coulson answered, “From an _Attilan_.”

“What did it say?” Tony queered. A commanding voice cut across their conversation as the entered the bridge of the Helicarrier.

“We know and we do not approve.” Director Nicholas Fury said, his single eye set in a near permanent scowl, “But of course what ever this Attilan is, hell even the Dome itself is just the tip of the iceberg.”

“You wanted to see me Nicky?” Tony asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

“Yes, as you might have noticed the world is on the brink,” Fury said, pointing towards Dome, “Whatever caused that triggered a change across the entire planet.”

“What do you mean?” Tony asked, his eyes widening slightly.

“Pure and simple Stark, situation has gone to shit pretty much sums it all up.” Fury stated, “Villains the world over are crawling out of whatever put we put them in or the hid themselves away in, the Raft has gone silent, STAKE reports something stirring under Scotland and the Zoo is on Red Alert, in fact Agent Grady why don’t you tell Mister Stark what you told me.”

A screen popped up revealing a man with dirty-blonde hair and beard, lightly tanned skin and dark brown eyes. He wore a loose fitting blue collared shirt, a brown leather vest, jeans and hiking boots. He was standing in what looked like a log cabin and had a rather large rifle hung across his back.

“Right so like I was telling you Boss, whatever happened in the Bronx has set everyone on edge here and I mean everyone!” Grady explained, “Blue and the girls have been on high alert the entire time and King...well let’s just say he is real unhappy at the moment.”

“Back to work Agent.” Fury said, getting a nod before turning off the screen, “So in short Stark we are in a dire need.”

“A dire need for what.” Tony asked, his guard raising slightly.

“The Avengers.” Fury responded, his tone deathly serious.

* * *

 

“Daisy Johnson it feels like just yesterday I saw you here, oh wait no that’s right, I did.” A kindly voice said, drawing her attention.

Standing in front of the door she was approaching, was a tall man of African American descent, his hair closely shave to his scalp and his brown eyes glittering with good intent. He was dressed in a yellow-and-black suit with a patch on the right arm of an eagle superimposed over an X.

“Hey Darwin.” Daisy said with a shy smile, “How are you today.”

“Can’t complain, though I’m gonna be honest I’m kind of hoping this guy wakes up.” Darwin answered, “Give me something to do with my time.”

“So do you mind if I-?” Daisy asked, gesturing at the door.

“Like I could stop you.” Darwin said, good-naturedly stepping aside. He quickly plugged in a code that caused the stark white door to slide upward.

Daisy smiled up at him gratefully, then entered the room. The door slide shut behind her and she looked around the room for what must have been the hundredth time. A small table sat in the corner next to a large couch, above which a large TV hung, the screen showing a pristine beach somewhere in the Caribbean. On the other side of the room was a large queen sized bed where it’s sole occupant rested. The most defining trait however was that like the door every thing in the room was a stark white.

Daisy crossed the room and sat down in the chair perched next to the bed where she had left it the last time she had visited the room’s occupant.

“It’s not him.” Daisy muttered to herself once more, before turning to actually look at the figure before her, “It’s not him.”

And yet her heart betrayed her as she took in the face of the man who had died not three years ago.

Laying before her was a man who was the spitting image of Lincoln, the only differing factors were the green eyes and the strange green hourglass tattoo on the back of his left hand.  
But it couldn't be him, and deep, deep down in the most critical part of her mind she knew it but she still felt drawn to him in the vain hope that somehow Lincoln hadn’t died that horrible day and that somehow he’d been brought back to her.

A sudden urge struck her out of nowhere, one that later she wouldn’t be able to explain. She reached out slowly and pressed the tips of her fingers to the back of the man’s palm, directly on top of the green hourglass, and let out a small vibration. There was a flash of green light that caused her to fall startled out of her chair.

The glow died and with a sudden gasp the man sat up his eyes shining with brilliant emerald light. Ben Tennyson was awake.

**Next Time Intrigue, Mystery, Green, oh a whole lot of Green, and more unexpected characters! So yeah this was changed a whole hell of a lot from the original chapter, hope you enjoy. For reference the events of this story take place 3 years after the events of the Avengers Movie, though you will notice next chapter that my version of the movie went down a bit differently, also the Avenger’s know Coulson is alive, so that’s a plus! If you got any of the references I made to character’s outside Marvel Canon, good for you cause like I said this story ain’t just gonna be Ben and Marvel folks, I got plans! Also telling you now Ben is not going to be the central focus of this Story, sure he’s important but some chapter’s might not involve him at all at times. VerBeek Signing Off!**


	6. Brave New World Part II

**And welcome back to Infinity! I do not own MCU or Ben 10.** _**Italics are flashbacks, and emphasis** _ **(Brackets are telepathy). So for this chapter A Throw Down in the Skies as Ben wakes up and tries to escape the Helicarrier! On top of that at the very end of the story I will be revealing the results of the Romance Poll, and reveal a project I'm going to be working on. But first, back to the action.**

**Infinity Chapter VI**

**Brave New World Part II**

" _So in short Stark we are in a dire need."_

" _A dire need for what." Tony asked, his guard raising slightly._

" _The Avengers." Fury responded, his tone deathly serious._

"No." Tony stated, his eyes going wide, "I already told Coulson, there is no way in _hell_ I'm rejoining that disaster!"

"Stark, SHIELD started the Avenger's Initiative to give people hope." Fury expounded, "To show them that for all the world could throw at us, there were those that would stand up and fight back. The Invasion was just the beginning, the situation we're in now...hell it blows it completely out of the water."

"So what makes you think the Avenger's can fix it?" Tony countered, his eyes burning, "The Invasion was an utter shit show and you know it!"

"Stark-" Fury began, only for Tony to bowl right over him.

"We might have saved the city Fury, but there was a _cost_!" Stark ranted, pointing at Coulson, "One of your best agents died, then another lost her arm, one of your 'Secret Warriors' turned himself into a literal suicide bomb, Xavier's brightest student was sent into a coma after trying to stabilize him and then to cap it all off I nearly died pushing a fucking _nuke_ , that your superiors ordered by the way, through a portal into deep space!"

"Yeah we 'won' but that didn't stop the Avenger's from just falling to pieces afterwards" Tony continued, drawing the eyes of several Agents standing nearby, "Thor left, Natasha claimed Barton had been a HYDRA spy the whole time and then dropped off the face of the Earth, coinciding with that Barton up until a few days ago was rotting in your little Raft, and Banner doesn't just want to be a weapon SHIELD let's out whenever it's convenient!"

"And now you want he and I to get the band back together with the help of a pacifist obsessed with ants and a fashion designer?!" Stark finished, breathing heavily.

"Hey!" A small voice snapped, drawing his attention to the railing next to Fury where a small figure in a black-and-yellow jumpsuit was perched. Janet van Dyne leapt off the railing and grew to her full height, her crystal blue eyes glaring up at him accusingly, "I might be a fashion designer but I've been kicking butt almost as long as you have!"

"Jan, come on you saw what happened during the Invasion." Tony stated, though he deflated slightly at the furious expression that covered the small woman's face.

"Yes, Tony I did...I was there when Lincoln...went." Jan's voice quivered, "But the failures of the past can't keep us from doing what needs to be done now."

"I...I don't know Jan." Tony muttered, "Pepper worries enough about me without me jumping head first into another disaster."

"It's a little late for that Tony." Coulson noted, "You're already here."

Tony made to retort when a figure suddenly appeared next to Fury, their appearance coincided with a sound that sent involuntary shivers down the assembled heroes spines.

The Hulk was out, and he was very, _very_ angry.

"Darwin...what did I say about avoiding a Code Green?" Fury said, turning to look at the alien-looking figure who had appeared beside him.

"Well the thing about that is sir, it wasn't entirely my fault." Darwin responded, flinching slightly when the sound of crunching metal drew everyone's attention.

"Then who's is it?" Fury demanded aggressively.

"The John Doe sir," Darwin answered, catching everyone's attention, "He's awake...and suffering from one of his attacks."

Nicholas Fury was not a man known for losing his composure but in that moment he broke, "Well fuck."

**Thirty Minutes Earlier**

Ben snapped awake with a jolt, his head throbbing a duet with his rapidly beating heart. He looked around, taking in the stark-white room around him before his eyes fell to the woman sitting next to him. She had lightly tanned skin, a messy head of dark brown hair and deep brown eyes. She wore a skin tight suit similar to those worn by off duty Plumbers, all in black, dark grey combat boots and strange metallic gauntlets that only covered the top half of her arms. The strangest thing however was that, one she was holding his hand and two she was staring at him like she'd seen a ghost.

"Hi." Ben choked out, before coughing violently, straining his parched throat, "Do...do you mind letting go of my hand?"

The woman started slightly, but did what he asked. However her eyes remained locked on him a mixture of shock and old pain swirling beneath the surface.

"I'm sorry but-can you tell me where I am?" Ben asked, looking around confused.

"You're in a SHIELD Facility." The woman answered, looking him over closely, "We brought you here after we found you unconscious under the Dome?"

"SHIELD, Dome?" Ben queered, his brow furrowing, "I'm sorry I don't understand, you aren't with the Plumbers?"

"Do I look like a Plumber to you?" The woman asked, looking slightly offended.

"Kind of," Ben responded, smiling cautiously, before a realization hit him, "Wait do you think I mean the plumbers that unclog toilets?"

"What other kind is there?" The woman asked, her eyebrows rising quizzically.

"The Intergalactic Police Force." Ben stated matter-a-factly, confused by the befuddled expression the woman was giving him, "They've saved Earth a handful of times in the last five years alone! They're common knowledge at this point."

"Wow." A new voice said, drawing Ben's attention to the other side of the room, where an older, lithe African-American man, dressed in a suit similar to the woman's though his had yellow on the arms and chest, entered through a sliding door, "I guess his brain is even more scrambled than we thought, huh?"

"Darwin." The woman hissed, shooting him an admonishing look, before turning back to Ben, "I'm sorry sir, but I don't know what you're talking about. My name is Daisy and Darwin and we happen to be Agents of SHIELD."

"SHIELD?" Ben queered, shooting Darwin a confused look, "What's SHIELD?"

Daisy and Darwin shot each-other conspiratorial looks, before the latter answered, "The Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, we're a counter-terrorism force backed by the United Nations, though we're mainly based in Continental America."

"I'm in the X-Division." Darwin said proudly, as if that was supposed to mean something to Ben, "Daisy was part of the Secret Warriors, but well..."

"Darwin please, we're getting off topic," Daisy stated softly, the pain Ben had noticed before bubbling ever closer to the surface, "So you know our names, mind giving us yours?"

"Benjamin Tennyson." Ben said proudly, sitting up in bed proudly, though the lack of reactions from the 'SHIELD' Agents set him on edge.

"Your name isn't Lincoln?" Daisy asked, turning to look at her Ben was taken a back at the amount of disappointment her expression now held.

"No. I'm Ben, Ben Ten." He responded, hoping to get a reaction other than confusion out of them, "Do-do you not know who I am?"

"No one does." Darwin responded, "You're an enigma kid, we've run you through every facial recognition scanner we have access too, and a few we shouldn't. Not a single match, and believe me that just doesn't happen."

"No one...not a single record of me?" Ben asked aghast, "What about Gwendolyn Tennyson? Max Tennyson? Carl? Sandra?"

The Agents looked at each other, before Darwin shrugged and turned to the screen embedded into the wall, "Aida, can you run a search on the names our John Do-sorry Mr. Tennyson asked after?"

"Of course Agent Darwin." A soft feminine voice responded, the yellow hologram of a woman's face appearing, "Several hits for Maxwell Tennyson, a member of the ill fated Apollo 15 mission, dying in a freak accident involving a faulty fuel line."

Ben froze, his throat beginning to constrict, "What about Kevin Levin?"

"Searching, error, no match found." Aida responded, sending Ben further into shock.

"Sir, Ben?" Daisy asked, trying to get him to look at her, "Are you okay?"

"No-I don't understand…" Ben trailed-off, before a sudden realization struck him, "How long have I been here?"

"Three months." Aida politely informed, "You were one of the first people recovered after what has been documented as the 'Cataclysm'."

"Cataclysm...what-oh God!" Ben suddenly leapt out of bed when a flurry of memories assaulted him. Daisy nearly fell out of her chair in surprise while Darwin froze, his eyes locked on Ben's horrified face.

"What, what is it?" Daisy asked cautiously.

"Why did it take me so long to remember?!" Ben cried, smacking himself in the head aggressively, "My cousin...she, the last time I saw her she wasn't herself. It was right after…"

Ben went eerily quiet for several seconds, before he locked eyes with Darwin, "You need to let me out of here."

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't do that." Darwin said, crossing his arms, "The Chief has been waiting to have a long talk with you ever since we pulled you out of the Dome. I'm sure we SHIELD can-

"You don't understand!" Ben interrupted, his eyes flashing green for a second. Darwin and Daisy immediately went on guard, though Ben failed to notice the change, "I need to get out of here, I have to find my cousin! Before things get worse!"

"What does that mean?" Darwin asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I-I don't have time to explain it all right now, just let me go!" Ben cried, taking a step towards the Agent, "Don't make me force the issue."

"Sorry kid, but I've got orders." Darwin stated, not budging away from his place in front of the door.

"Please Ben, calm down." Daisy said soothingly, reaching out for him, "We can help you, we just need you to work us."

Ben looked back at her, once again seeing the desperate sadness that filled her eyes and sighed, "I'm sorry, I really didn't want to do this."

He reached, like he had hundreds of times before, for his left wrist and stopped cold. For where the Omnitrix had settled for nigh on ten years there was nothing but air. Looking down Ben had a minor conniption when all he saw on his wrist was a faint green marking in the shape of an hourglass.

"No, no, no!" Ben yelled, his eyes once again flashing green, "Where is it?!"

"Where is what?" Daisy asked, startled at Ben's sudden fit of anger.

"My watch! _The_ Omnitrix!" Ben roared, rounding on her, "What did you do with it? Who are you?!"

"What-I don't." Daisy stammered, stepping away from the fuming young man, "I already told you we're SHIELD Agents."

"That still doesn't mean anything to me!" Ben snapped, a cold certainty passing over him "This-this is all just some big ruse. You're another rogue group of Plumbers like the Rooters. My Grandfather and friends are out there right now searching for me, and when I get out of here they are going to help me save Gwen! Now tell you what you did with my Watch!"

He angrily grabbed at Daisy, who reacted instinctively, blasting him back with light vibrational shove. Darwin moved like lightning, wrapping Ben in a deceptively strong bear hug. Ben struggled for a moment before crying out as his veins began glowing green.

"He's having an attack!" Darwin cried, his body quickly reshaping. His eyes turned completely black, his skin becoming a pale grey while his limbs elongated and his hair and nose disappeared, "Daisy get back!"

What followed next was utter chaos as Ben's body erupted in emerald light sending Darwin flying from him while Daisy was slammed into an adjacent wall.

Daisy's blinked the black spots out of her eyes, quickly pushed herself to her feet and gasped softly when she spotted what was standing in Ben's place.

Standing before her was a tall being made out of fire and rock with a glowing green hourglass-shaped patch of flame on the center of it's chest. It was looking down at itself in a mix of shock and relief, a grin slowly crossing it's face.

"How did I...I changed!" Ben cried triumphantly, before glaring down at Daisy, "Look I don't want to fight you, but you are _not_ keeping me here."

"Like I said kid," Darwin said, drawing Ben's attention to the other side of the room, "I'm not letting that happen."

"You still think you can stop me?" Ben asked, his hands igniting with flames hot enough to melt the steel around them.

"So you've got powers." Darwin said, shrugging, "So do I, adaptive evolution. So come on kid, hit me with your best shot."

Ben's burning eyes narrowed, a wave of fire building in each hand which he hurled aggressively at Darwin. To is surprise the moment the flames touched Darwin's skin they extinguished, while the man suddenly moved with a burst of speed, landing a palm strike against Ben's chest which sent him stumbling backwards.

Ben frowned, and launched a vicious front kick into Darwin's stomach. The Agent was pushed back several feet, barely winding him and not even leaving a single scorch mark.

"You're not going to stop me." Ben stated, his hands clenching into fists, "I'm getting out of here."

"Then you better start trying harder." Darwin retorted, entering a drop stance, "Because I'm not budging."

Daisy meanwhile had been edging around the room, moving towards the panel that would hopefully contain the fighting. Ben noticed however and sent a blast of fire towards the terminal, turning it into a melted pile of slag.

"Sorry, but I can't let you stop me." Ben apologized, narrowly dodging the blast of vibrations Daisy shot in response.

"Eyes on my kid." Darwin warned, aiming a roundhouse kick for Ben's head, "This little dance is between the two of us, leave her out of it."

"She attacked me." Ben muttered, blocking the kick with his forearm.

"Darwin, you sure?" Daisy asked, still aiming her hands at Ben, the air around them appearing to quiver slightly.

"Yeah," Darwin stated, crossing his arms before his face to avoid a flaming punch to the face, "Go get Banner, he might be able to talk hot-head here down."

Daisy nodded, and raced to the door, sliding under a blast of fire expertly. Ben moved to follow her but was pushed back by a flurry of open-handed blows courtesy of Darwin. Daisy' quickly opened the sliding door, gesturing at several other Agents to arm themselves and took off to find Banner.

("This isn't working.") Ben muttered to himself, ("I...I need to _change_ things up.")

Coinciding with his realization his body started glowing again before Heatblast morphed before the SHIELD Agent's eyes transforming into a large orange creature that looked like an unholy combination of a gorilla, a tiger and a wolf if of course any of those creatures lost their eyes and gained a set of gills.

The new form snarled and leapt at Darwin, sending both of them careening through the window. They slammed into the metal corridor beyond with Ben on top, snapping viciously at Darwin's face. He managed to escape by viciously kicking Ben in the stomach who whimpered in pain, backing up like wounded dog. Several Agent's drew their Icers, pointing them at the disturbing creature that had just been trying to maul one of their own.

Ben froze, before letting out a low growl, as he ducked under the first shot and barrelled towards the offending agent, slamming into him with enough force to knock him prone. He then dodged to the side allowing for the other agent to pepper her comrade with Icer rounds instead of him.

Ben whirled around to go after her when an unseen fist suddenly crashed across his face, pushing him back. Ben shook his head and looked around frantically, his gills flaring drawing in the heat signatures around him...but to his surprise Darwin's was missing.

"You rely on heat to see in that form, don't you?" Darwin's voice asked, directly in Ben's ear causing him to jump to the left, a kick connecting directly with the bottom of his jaw.

"Thought so." The voice said, this time coming from his right, disorienting Ben even more. Ben lashed out instinctively and felt his claws rip through the leather of Darwin's suit.

"Lucky shot." Darwin muttered, pressing his advantage once more, darting in and out, landing blow after blow on Wildmutt's crouched form.

(I can't fight him like this!") Ben though to himself, his body pivoting constantly as he tried to find even a whiff of his opponent, (Time to switch things up again.)

Once again his body, shone with brilliant emerald light as he changed, his new form's head nearly brushing the ceiling. It was a large tan dinosaur-like being, with a long tail, huge muscular arms and thick elephantine legs.

"Well you're just full of surprises." Darwin muttered, flipping backwards narrowly dodging the giant's punch, which slammed right through the metal floor with little effort.

"And you haven't even seen half of them." Ben fired back, wildly swinging at Darwin, who ducked under the latest blow.

"Enough!" A voice called, freezing both Ben and Darwin in their tracks, as Daisy rounded in the corner with a man Ben hadn't seen before close behind.

"Ben, please, I understand that you're scared and confused," Daisy said, making placating gestures, "But we don't want to fight you."

"You're keeping me from helping my cousin!" Ben roared, his body growing slightly.

"Not on purpose," The smaller man said, stepping forward, "My name is Bruce Banner, and I was on scene when SHIELD found you, and frankly if it wasn't for Agents like Darwin you'd be dead right now."

Ben loosened his fighting stance slightly, "What...what do you mean?"

"You were found _seven_ days after the Cataclysm, at what we believe was the epicenter of the event, unconscious and barely breathing," Banner expounded, "You shouldn't have even lasted half that long, which was the first clue something was unusual about you."

Ben stayed silent as Banner continued to explain, "SHIELD immediately gave you over to their best doctor's, one of which is on this very airship. They got you stabilized, and helped you with your attacks."

"Darwin said I was having an 'attack' earlier, when I changed." Ben stated, kneeling down to look Banner in the eye, "What does that mean?"

Banner shared a look with the others, "You body would go into seizing fits that were usually accompanied by you changing forms, Daisy and the other SHIELD Agent's watching over you did their best to make you comfortable during your fits. However it seems like these "attacks" are actually something you are quite familiar with."

"It's a long story." Ben responded curtly.

"And I look forward to hearing it." Bruce stated sincerely, "This violence doesn't need to continue."

"I..." Ben looked at Daisy with a confused expression before turning back to Banner, "Why should I believe anything you say?"

Banner smiled honestly, "I understand being wary around new people, especially those who seem to be apart of a paramilitary organization. But I'm not a part of SHIELD, hell not that long ago I was in a very similar situation that you are now. I have no reason to lie to you Mr…"

"Tennyson." Ben said evenly, calming down slightly, "I...I just need to get out of here. My cousin's in trouble, and the more time I waste the worse that danger could become."

"I understand wanting to keep your loved one's safe." Banner responded evenly, his eyes glinting green for a second, though Ben shrugged it off as a trick of the light, "My friends and I can help you."

"SHIELD can too," Daisy added, quickly, "We're not your enemy Ben."

"I-" Ben started to say when his vision suddenly went black, except for a bright red light that seemed to be racing towards him.

"What's happening?" Ben cried, stumbling backwards as out of the red light flashed Gwen's face, her eyes black.

"They're _lying_!" Gwen screamed, the sound ringing in Ben's ears as his vision snapped back to normal.

Dents covered the walls around him where he'd apparently punched, Daisy was picking herself off the ground, clutching a bleeding nose while Darwin was walking towards Banner with the caution of someone approaching a minefield.

"I'm sorry, I-" Ben began only, for Daisy to put her finger to her lips as she slowly backed away from the prone Bruce.

"Doc?" Darwin queered anxiously, "You okay?"

Banner didn't respond as he pushed himself to his knees, his fists clenching and unclenching rapidly.

"Doc?" Darwin asked again, only to jump back when Banner's head snapped up suddenly, eyes a brilliant green while his face was contorted in pure rage.

"Shit." Darwin swore, before almost against his will his powers kicked in, teleporting him away.

* * *

"You...you left Skye down there with those two?!" Coulson roared, panic overwhelming him.

"I'm sorry, my powers are instinctual!" Darwin fired back, glaring down at the older man, "It was out of my hands!"

"Enough both of you!" Fury snapped, turning to Maria Hill, who had arrived to report Ben's escape only to find Fury already well informed and on the brink of having an aneurysm, "Hill, Protocol Gamma is now in effect, set Melinda and her Team on standby.

"Immediately Sir." Hill responded, turning and racing out of the room, several lower Agents following close behind.

"AIDA, Code Green now." Fury snapped.

"At once sir." Aida responded, an flashing green light followed by a siren activating.

"I need eyes on them." Fury stated, regaining his composure.

AIDA's hologram nodded, "The Hulk seems to be funneling this 'Ben Tennyson' towards the hangar bay... _quite_ aggressively."

"What about Agent Johnson?" Coulson asked.

"She appears to be in pursuit of them both." AIDA responded evenly, causing Coulson's knees to go a tad weak.

"Phil," Wasp said, resting her hand on his shoulder, "She's going to be fine, Hulk adores her, he wouldn't do anything to hurt her."

"That doesn't mean she couldn't get hurt in the crossfire between Banner and this Tennyson kid," Tony said, offhandedly. Janet sent him a writhing glare, causing him to back-peddle immediately, "But she's incredibly capable, she'll be fine."

"Agreed, now both of you suit up and get down there before this gets any worse." Fury ordered, his tone brooking no argument, even from Stark.

Janet and Tony nodded, and took off, the former shrinking down and taking to the air while Tony reached for his ear piece.

"JARVIS?" Tony asked, racing towards the elevator, while Janet entered the vent system to his left.

"Yes sir?" JARVIS responded, a massive smashing noise coming across the comm, "I'm guessing you're calling me about Dr. Banner currently using the wing of a Quinjet to assault a giant lizardman?"

"Got it in one J," Tony responded, "Wait did you say giant lizard-man?"

* * *

Ben went soaring, slamming through a steel wall and scraping across the ground for several feet before painfully pushing himself to his feet.

"Damn." Humungousaur grimaced, holding his ribs, all of which he was pretty sure had been broken by Banner's last punch. Speaking of which he had just rounded the corner, charging towards Ben pure rage in his eyes.

After Darwin had disappeared things had happened very quickly, Banner's form had swollen and reshaped, skin turning a brilliant green while his clothes ripped away leaving the Doctor wearing nothing but a shredded pair of khakis. He was now nearing nine feet tall, with a build more reminiscent of a gorilla than a human, and as Ben had been discovering quite painfully could hit like a semi.

Ben braced himself for Banner's next attack and managed to catch his charge though Banner pushed through slamming him into the wall.

"What happened to 'this violence doesn't need to continue' huh?" Ben quipped, trying his best to push Banner off of him, but despite his greater size he couldn't seem to do anything to budge Banner.

"Change-Man hurt Hulk!" Hulk roared, shoulder checking Ben before backing up and raising his hands over his head, "Hulk _smash_ Change-Man!"

Ben crossed his arms over his head and felt his arm bones crack slightly, letting out a roar of pain Ben actually felt his body change this time, his bones healing and growing thicker as he evolved.

"Ultimate Humungousaur!" Ben cried, triumphantly, suddenly and viciously punching 'Hulk' in the face, sending him flying for once. He smashed through several crates and slammed into a Quinjet. At that moment the elevator opened behind him, depositing Tony while Wasp appeared out of the vent besides the elevator.

Tony's armor clattered to life, flying from across the hanger to encompass Tony, while Wasp darted over to where Daisy was holed up, hiding behind a yet undamaged helicopter.

"What happened?" Janet asked, startling Daisy slightly as she alighted on her shoulder.

"Ben, that's the John Doe's name, attacked us suddenly and set off Banner…and then things kind of snowballed." Daisy responded, flinching slightly as Hulk let out a massive roar before charging towards what looked like a fusion of an ankylosaurus, a triceratops and a man.

"Don't worry Tremors," Tony quipped, "The Cavalry's here."

"Really...because I don't see May anywhere." Daisy stated flatly, only for Jan to superimpose herself between the bantering heroes.

"Enough bantering, let's get in there!" Jan cried excitedly, tearing away towards Hulk, who was locked in a pushing contest with Ben, that the former was slowly winning.

"Well, you certainly can't fault her enthusiasm." Tony joked, before following after her.

"You might not be able to, but I certainly can." A new voice said as Hank Pym, dropped from the ceiling growing as he did, "Is fighting really going to fix this issue?"

"Banner tried diplomacy," Tony fired back, aiming his repulsors at the grappling titans, "The Big Guy decided to give him the day off."

Pym sighed, "This should end well."

Ben caught sight of the approaching heroes and moved, or more accurately flowed. One second he was grappling with the Hulk, the next he drew the other behemoth into a crushing one armed bear hug while he raised his other hand, pointing it fist first at the others.

"Back off." Ben warned, "Now!"

"Ben, can I call you Ben," Tony quipped, "You might have just made the biggest mistake of your life."

"Wh-" Ben never got to finish his sentence as Hulk's head came up, cracking into his jaw with the sound of a cannon-shot. Ben released him and stumbled backwards, holding his broken jaw.

Hulk darted away, standing shoulder to shoulder with his fellows, his rage having died down a bit with the appearance of friends.

Ben stood still for several seconds, before aggressively snapping his jaw back in place.

"I keep telling you, I just want to go find my cousin!" Ben roared, what little patience he'd had finally fraying.

"You hurt Hulk!" Hulk roared back, making to charge once again, only to pause when Ben leveled both of his form's massive arms at him.

"Yeah? Well that was an accident!" Ben snapped, "This is on purpose!"

His hands suddenly reshaped, molding into organic cannons that immediately fired, irradiated bone rockets crashing into Hulk's face sending him careening.

Ben then charged, tanking the Hulk to the floor, before swinging his tail aggressively at the others. Iron Man began firing several repulsor blasts at Ben's face, receiving a painful backhand for his effort. Ant-Man and Wasp dodged his wild swings, though their attacks did little to deter the behemoth as he marched on heading for what appeared to be the exit.

He reached for the button, when a loud roar interrupted him, turning he spotted the Hulk pushing himself to his feet, a massive shipping container in his hands.

"Hulk _smash!_ " The Jade Giant roared, tossing the shipping container directly at Ben. Ben raised his hand to fire on it, realizing his mistake a second too late as his mind registered, 'Highly Explosive' along the side of the container.

What followed next was utter mayhem as his rocket's impacted with the crate, creating a blast of neon blue energy that ripped free of the crate, blasting everyone off their feet, and ripping a massive hole in the side of the Helicarrier, exposing everyone to the open air.

Ben shrunk back to his human form, and shook his head, trying to remove the ringing from his ears while simultaneously coming to terms with being miles in the air. The world screeched to a halt however when he heard a pained scream off to the side.

"Daisy!" The miniature woman cried, darting out the opening. Ben's brain registered what had happened and without a second though he moved. Changing as he ran Ben threw himself out of the hole, free falling towards Daisy, who was dropping listlessly, a large cut seeping blood where her head had impacted with the wall of the Helicarrier.

"What-" Wasp gasped incredulously as Ben rocketed past her. His skin glowing green as he transformed once more taking the form a large humanoid pterodactyl. He grabbed Daisy carefully with his talons and then with a burst of bio-energy from the port in his back blasted up towards the Helicarrier, a shocked Wasp in tow.

Entering through the hole, Ben carefully deposited Daisy, before landing next to her ignoring the circle of people that had arrived, including the Hulk, who towered over the assembled Agents, and with shocking care pushed several aside so that he, and several people Ben had never seen before could get through.

"Is she okay?" Coulson asked, concern written across his features.

A woman holding a medical scanner, nodded.

"Everything appears to be in order, excluding the cut, some small burns and bruises." The woman responded in a light British accent.

"Oh thank God." Coulson muttered, earning an elbow from Stark, who has his face-plate retracted.

"Why not thank the kid?" Tony noted, nodding towards Ben, who had turned back to human. He was focused on Daisy, a guilty expression on his face, but Coulson could see he was on edge, eyeing the other Agents with reservation.

"Thank you." Coulson stated, drawing Ben's attention.

"It's...it's what I do." Ben stated awkwardly, turning towards Hulk who was still looming over the rest of them, "Sorry for causing all this…"

Hulk eyed him suspiciously, grunted noncommittally, and then went back to staring down at Daisy.

It took several minutes, but Daisy awoke without little trouble, staring around at the crowd with a bemused expression.

"What happened?" She asked, curious to see Ben amongst those surrounding her.

"You went for skydiving without a parachute." Tony quipped, "But luckily-

"Ben saved you!" Janet interrupted, her eyes glittering with excitement, "I went after you and he just leapt out after me! He rocketed past me and turned into this pterodactyl thing, it's like he's done this kind of thing before! Wait have you done this kind of thing before?"

The assembled heroes the Shapeshifter a cursory look, which he returned with an awkward role of his shoulder's, "Like I said, it's what I do."

"Hulk hurt Daisy?" Hulk asked, actual guilt crossing the giant's face.

"No Hulk, I'm fine." Daisy reassured with a bright smile.

"Good." Hulk said, shooting Ben a small smile.

There was a sudden commotion amongst the surrounding agents, as several heavily armed men and woman appeared, followed by Maria Hill and Director Fury.

"Would someone like to tell me, why exactly my Helicarrier has a massive damn hole in the side of it?" Fury asked, his eye sweeping over the assembled heroes.

"That-uh that would be my fault sir." Ben spoke up, withering under the impressive glare Fury shot him.

"Is that so?" Fury said, "Well I'm sure I'll get to hear all about it during our little chat, take him back to his cell."

Ben's face darkened as several Agents stepped forward Icers and handcuffs at the ready. To his surprise however the man in the armor placed himself in their path.

"I don't think so." Tony stated.

"What are you doing Stark?" Fury snapped, "Get out of the way."

"No, I don't think I will," Stark returned, his face hardening, "Not unless we make a deal."

"What are you talking about?" Fury sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"You want us to rejoin the Avengers?" Tony asked, gesturing to himself and Hulk, "Fine but only if he gets to join up too."

He pointed at Ben, who looked up at him confused, not understanding what he had now found himself being thrown into.

"Stark, he just blew a hole in the side of my ship! He hurt several of my Agents, hell he gave Banner a run for his money, why should I let him just walk free?" Fury snapped.

"It's for those very reasons that you should let him walk free," Tony countered, "We don't need any more enemies right now Fury, and you know that."

Fury was silent for a moment, before nodding his head in consent, "Fine, but not without a handler, we still know almost nothing about him Stark."

"I know isn't it exciting." Tony quipped.

"I'll do it." Daisy offered, "You had already marked me for the Avengers Initiative Director, this would make for an easier transition."

"Fine," Fury huffed, turning his attention on Ben, "But I'll be keeping an eye on him, after all like you said Stark, we don't need anymore enemies."

He turned to walk away, before stopping and looking back at Stark, "Oh, and you'll be helping with the repairs alright Stark?"

"Would you believe I already had some plans drawn up for this exact situation?" Tony snarked.

"Knowing you, yes, yes I would." Fury responded, walking away with Maria and Coulson in tow, the other Agents quickly dispersed, leaving Ben alone with his new teammates.

"Thanks I guess." Ben muttered, pushing himself to his feet.

"Hey, it was either us or a comfy prison cell on the Raft." Tony fired back.

"Not a pleasant place to live on all accounts." The other man agreed, "Now that things have finally calmed down, I feel like introductions are in order. My name is Dr. Hank Pym, aka Ant-Man, expert in the Microverse.

"Janet van Dyne, Aka the Wasp." Jan said playfully, "Hank's assistant, fashion designer and all around ass-kicker!"

"And this is Hulk." She said, patting the giant on the shoulder, "Alter-ego of Dr Bruce Banner, expert in gamma radiation, and-."

"The strongest one there is." Hulk said proudly, smiling down at Ben, "Hi."

"I'm Daisy Johnson, aka Quake." Daisy offered, giving Ben a comforting smile, "Agent of SHIELD, and I'm an Inhuman."

"We'll get into that later." Tony noted, catching the confused look on Ben's face, "My name's Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, billionaire playboy philanthropist."

"I'm Ben Tennyson." Ben stated, standing a bit taller, "Wei-former wielder of the Omnitrix, Plumber Agent...and well let's just say I'm not from around here."

"I'm guessing you'll explain more later?" Tony asked, a grin crossing his face as Ben nodded, "Well all that's left to say is, welcome to the Avengers."

He reached his hand out for handshake, which Ben grabbed almost automatically, "Thanks."

**Avenger's Tower, September 30th 23:00 EDT**

Ben sat alone on top of the Tower staring off towards the Dome, since moving into the Tower he hadn't been able to sleep, his dreams filled with flashes of Gwen, Kevin, Gems and a girl he didn't recognize.

"Can't sleep?" A soft voice asked, Ben turned and spotted Daisy walking across the roof towards him. She was another issue, constantly checking on him to make sure he was okay, always looking at him when she thought he wasn't paying attention, her expression slightly haunted. He could tell there was a deeper interest there, something more than being his 'handler' but at the moment he had enough on his mind...including acclimating to a new universe. A universe where he didn't exist, where his family had ended with his Grandfather years ago...he was alone, except for these 'Avengers', a motley crew of heroes that only seemed to be kept from falling apart a fair amount of duck-tape, grit and no small amount of luck.

"Yeah." Ben answered honestly, turning back to the skyline, "Too much on my mind."

"I can understand that." Daisy stated, coming to stand besides him, "It's kind of beautiful isn't it?"

"The Dome?" Ben asked, staring off at the glowing red-and-blue energy field, yet another puzzle he had to figure out, "Yeah...I feel drawn to it...but I can't figure out why?"

"It's a mystery, we don't know who made it or where it came from." Daisy responded, "I can see the allure there."

"I suppose you're right." Ben lied, getting up and stretching, "Well I think I'm going to turn in."

"Night then." Daisy responded, walking back inside leaving Ben alone once more.

"Gwen..." Ben muttered, turning back to the Dome, "I don't know where you are...but I'm going to find Kevin and then we're going to get you back...and hopefully find a way home."

With that Ben headed inside, prepping himself for another night of chaotic dreaming.

' **The Dog House', The Dome, 23:43 EDT**

"She ran over there!" One of the Watch Dogs cried, pointing down an alley after the fleeing woman.

Fiona ran, her bird like feet scrabbling against the broken masonry. She was terrified, being hunted by men and women that hated her for something she had no control of, something she had never wanted, all because of the damn Dome!

"Please, please, please." She muttered, racing down the alley way, hoping that she would be able to find some place behind when she ran into someone. She screamed as the person's arms wrapped around her, but to her surprise the figure didn't try and hurt her but instead just pushed her behind him. She looked up and noticed that he kept his face hidden in the depths of his hoodie.

"You okay?" The man asked, his voice rough, "Did they hurt you?"

"They-they, broke one of my wings." Fiona responded pitifully, gesturing to the arm that hung limp at her side, the forearm covered in thick black feathers.

The man snarled, and pushed her further behind him, as several Watch Dogs rounded the end of the alley, "She's down here! Wait who's that with her."

The man stepped forward, his shoulders squared, only for Fiona to try and pull him back with her working hand.

"No don't, they'll kill you." She whispered frantically, "And then they'll take me back!"

The man laughed, before pulling down his hood to reveal a bald head, brown almost black eyes and a x-shaped scar on the bottom of his chin. He then pushed her further into the alleyway behind him, "Don't worry, I've been in worse fights than this when I was eleven. Now stay behind me."

The main straightened up, as he wrapped his hands around the chain around his belt, connected to the chain was a large solid metal sphere, that he slowly began to spin as he walked towards the Watch Dogs.

"It's Crusher!" One of the Watch Dogs cried, raising their guns to fire at him.

"It's me." Crusher, aka Kevin Levin sneered, letting the make shift flail clatter across the pavement, his skin turning to steel as he raced towards the Watch Dogs. He was going to make them pay for hurting that girl, and he was going to love every second of it.

**And so ends the prologue of Infinity, next chapter is going to be a small interlude where I fully explain the time-line of this Marvel Universe, because as you may have noticed a lot is different, just a warning other than being synopsis of the timeline it will not be a story update, it's mostly background. The chapter after that however while start the first true Arc of my story, "Inside the Dome." So look forward to that.**

**In addition to this I wish to announce the fan-cast of what Ben, Kevin, and Gwen look like in this crazy world of live action,**

**Ben Tennyson-Luke Mitchell, I was trying to think up what Ben would look like around my age and well Luke, who played Lincoln in Agents of SHIELD just fit the bill so there we are.**

**Gwen Tennyson-Sophie Turner, better known as Sansa Stark from Game of Thrones, and Jean Grey in the X-Men Apocalypse...so expect Ben to have a minor conniption when he meets Jean, which he will.**

**And Finally Kevin Levin-Adam Driver, best known for playing Han Solo's emo son Kylo Ren.**

**So with all that said and done, VerBeek signing off!**


	7. Diamonds to Dust Part I

**Welcome Guys, Gals and Nonbinary Pals to the first Arc of this fic, Under the Dome, let's get started!**

**Infinity: Under the Dome Chapter VII**

**Diamonds to Dust**

**The Dome, Bronx Checkpoint, October 11th 8:00 EDT**

Cynthia Sanford clutched her son to her side as they passed through the checkpoint, letting out a relieved breath as for the first time in several months she caught sight of blue sky. Looking back she saw the hooded figure who had protected her and her son. He nodded at her politely before heading back deeper into the Dome. Why he wanted so badly to stay was beyond her, but she would forever be grateful to this 'Crusher' for getting her and her son out of that hell safe.

"Right this way Miss." One of the guards said, giving her a comforting smile. She noticed that several armed guards were eyeing her and her son, though none went out of the way to make themselves appear threatening. A cursory glance would show that they guards were separated in two camps, those working for SHIELD and a group of career soldiers, freelancers and military vets owned and run by General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross, called the Gamma Corp. The tension between the two groups could easily have been cut with a dull butter-knife but Cynthia was too overwhelmed by her situation to take notice.

The guard, dressed in SHIELD combats lead her and her son over to the side, where another dressed in the grey and green of the Gamma Corp stood waiting in front of a computer terminal next to what resembled a metal detector.

"Stop here." The SHIELD agent ordered, though his friendly smile cut down on the harsh tone.

Cynthia obeyed, shooting both guards a questioning look, "What is this for?"

"There are a lot of people lost beneath that Dome Miss," The GC guard stated curtly, "We have orders to help catalogue those that make it back to us as well as run a routine scan. Names please."

"Cynthia Sanford and Jacob Reece, my son." Amanda said, her eyes narrowing slightly, "A scan for what?"

The SHIELD Guard spoke up, "Any abnormalities, injuries or complications caused from time under the Dome. Sorry for the inconvenience Mam, but it is in your best interests, and those of your son."

Cynthia looked down at her son, who was watching both guards with barely contained fear, though she could see that exhaustion was getting the best of him. She drew her fingers through his hair softly. They had been through so much already, what could one little scan hurt?

"Alright Miss Sanford, if you would step through the scanner first please." The GC guard asked.

Reluctantly she released Jacob's hand, startling the boy out of his stupor as he clutched for her hand, "Mom?"

"It's okay Jacob, I'm right here." Cynthia assured, stepping backwards into the scanner, which began to bath her first in a blue, then red, then green light.

The SHIELD agent knelt down next to Jacob and gave him a soothing smile, "It's okay champ, just this scan and then you and your Mom'll get to grab something to eat, and then rest on a real bed. I'm thinking you'd like that right?"

Jacob looked up at him with wide eyes and nodded.

"I thought so." The agent noted genially, "Say how old are you?"

Jacob looked over at his mother who smiled reassuringly, "Go on."

"I-I'm seven years old." Jacob stated shyly, a smile slowly crossing his face, "But I turn eight next week!"

"Well aren't you lucky eh buddy?" The agent noted, gesturing up at the blue sky, "How's that for an early birthday present?"

"It's great!" Jacob said his excitement getting a laugh from the guard and his mother while the GC member smiled grudgingly, "I...I was really scared in there."

He pointed back at the Dome, looming above them like a near endless red wall.

"I understand." The SHIELD agent said, "To be honest I would be pretty scared in there too."

"You would?" Jacob asked, his eyes widening slightly.

"Of course." The agent responded, "But you don't have to be afraid anymore alright?"

The GC guard spoke up suddenly, "You're good Miss, now for your son."

Cynthia stepped out of the scanner, giving her son a reassuring smile as he stepped forward.

"Just hold still okay champ?" The agent stated, walking over to stand beside the terminal, "Just a few more minutes and then you're scot-free."

Jacob gave another shy smile and stood very still, allowing the multi-colored scanners to cover his body.

"Thank you, for trying to make him feel comfortable." Cynthia said quietly, giving the SHIELD Agent a bright smile.

The agent smiled back cautiously, "No need to thank me, just trying to make him feel safe you know. We've had a few kids through here before...keeps me up at night thinking about all those people stuck in that...hell. Wish I could be doing more than just watching this checkpoint though. I joined SHIELD after the Invasion, wanted to make a difference you know...but you didn't just wait through months of hell to hear me ramble on, sorry."

"No I…" Cynthia was cut off by a loud series of beeps that caused agent to bolt forward his eyes trained on the terminal.

The Agent and the GC shared a look, before the former turned to Cynthia, "Miss can you come over here for a second please."

"What about Ja-" She was cut off by the GC woman, who gave her a stern look, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him."

Jacob watched as his mother walked away with the nice SHIELD man, leaving him alone with this...angry lady. Several minutes passed and then he heard his mother crying and yelling. He tried to run to see what was wrong when the angry lady blocked his path.

"Let me see my Mom!" Jacob yelled, trying to dodge around her, only for the GC to consistently block his path.

"It's okay kid," The woman grunted, "You're mom'll be back in a bit."

"But she's crying!" Jacob shouted, the air around him seemingly getting hotter as his frustration and fear grew, "Let me see her!"

"No." Was the woman's curt response. Jacob bolted at that, dodging between her legs only for her to reach out and grab a hold of his arm. He pulled with all his strength but couldn't get her to let go.

"Let go of me!" Jacob yelled, the heat around him increasing, "Let me see my Mom! Mom! Mom!"

"Kid it's going to be-" The woman never got to finish her sentence as a wave of force rolled off of Jacob, sending her flying backwards her body armor sizzling. Jacob stood there for several seconds terrified, as bright magenta smoke began to pour from his eyes and hands, pooling on the ground around him.

"What the hell is going-put it down Montoya!" The agent yelled, bolting forward just as Jacob's mother screamed. Jacob whirled around and found himself looking down what appeared to be the barrel of gun.

" _Mommy!_ " Jacob cried, his body bathed in magenta energy, which exploded outward in a blinding flash, leaving his Mother and the guards momentarily blinded. A wave of force followed knocking them all off their feet.

Agent Stewart pushed himself to his feet, blinking black dots out of his eyes as he looked around frantically. Sucking in a gasp, he pushed himself to his feet, staring around at the sight before him.

The Checkpoint was nearly unrecognizable, the scanner was nothing but a pile of ash, the terminals had turned to solid wood including the holo-screen which fluttered in the wind like unimaginably thin paper and for about twenty feet around the pavement had turned into something vaguely resembling liquid glass. Stewart noticed then that several glass foot-prints lead away from the Checkpoint...heading back towards the Dome.

Montoya surged to her feet across from him, her eyes filled with awed horror as she took in the scene around them. She gripped the butt of her Icer tightly, and was surprised when it crumpled in her hand, having been transmuted into was resembled wet, pitch-black sand.

Stewart growled under his breath and made towards the Gamma Corp Merc, who glared at him defiantly, when a soft tearful voice stopped him short.

"You told us we were safe." Cynthia stated, angry tears pooling in her eyes, "You told my son not to be afraid and then...you chased him back into that hell."

With that her composure broke and she collapsed, weeping uncontrollably, as the events of the past three months finally overcame her. Agent Stewart clenched his fist, shooting Montoya another writhing glare, and walked over to Miss Sanford. He paused, before placing a cautious hand on Cynthia's shoulder. The bereaved mother looked up at him, anger, sadness and a faint hope swirling across her eyes.

"I swear to you Miss," Agent Stewart said, his eyes filled with willful conviction, "We will get your son back."

**Avenger's Tower, New York 10:01 EDT**

Sitting alone in his sparsely decorated bedroom; Ben Tennyson, was for lack of a better word, anxious. Two weeks had passed since his awakening at the Helicarrier, which was back to full functionality thanks to Stark's quick thinking and liberal usage of the other Avengers powers.

He chuckled softly to himself, The Avengers. A disorganized team of misfits, with metric tons of baggage yet they'd taken to him like fire on oil. For that at least he was thankful, better to have a slightly mangled lifeline then be left floundering in an entirely different universe.

He let out a long sigh at that thought. He'd hopped universe's before...which honestly should have been a bigger deal than it felt now. However in the past he at least had some recognizable faces to go off of even if the personalities were skewed. Here, there was no Ben, no Gwen, Kevin, Grandpa, Bellwood nor Undertown. No odd familitaries like alien's walking the streets or Plumber agents having coffee with cops in random cafes. For the first time in his life he was alone, in a place so painfully similar but jarringly different. Mutants, Inhumans, HYDRA, San Fransokyo, SHIELD, Stark Tech, every big change made his head spin. So instead of focusing on the big differences; he'd busied himself with enjoying the small similarities like Mom-and-Pop Diners and noon-day traffic. His 'team-mates' had been worried about his apparent distrust of the world around him, though he'd been able to alleviate their fears with a tried and true method, fake partial amnesia. He'd come up with it all on the spot during an impromptu 'research' session by Dr. Pym, Banner and Tony Stark at dinner a few nights ago.

* * *

 

_"How do your powers work?" Tony had asked suddenly, causing the unexpecting youth to choke on his Big-Belly-Burger. The table had gone silent as everyone turned to look at him._

_Choking down his food Ben had tried to play coy, "What do you mean?"_

_Tony pointed his shoulder at Daisy, who froze a set of pasta filled chopsticks halfway to her mouth, "Tremors said you have incredible control over your powers, which isn't something you would see out of a newly awoken Inhuman or recently Gifted person. That and back after the big fight you mentioned something about being the 'former wielder of the Omnitrix."_

_Ben sat there for several seconds like a deer in headlights before Janet spoke up, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to Ben."_

_Ben took another bite of his burger and shook his head. "It's okay, it's just a bit complicated to answer. So uh my memory's a bit fuzzy, as you've noticed, but from what I can remember is that I used to have this alien-machine called the Omnitrix attached to my wrist."_

_"How did that come to pass?" Hank had asked, the word alien having fully drawn his attention from his food, not that he'd touched it much beforehand anyways._

_Ben faked a pensive look, "Can't remember to be honest, but what I do know is it has rarely left my wrist, and that it is or was what allowed me to transform into multiple alien lifeforms."_

_"So you powers are neither natural or terrestrial is what your saying?" Banner asked, his eyes locked on Ben._

_"Correct." Ben offered, frowning slightly, "I've had it for so long though...it almost felt normal to have it clutching my wrist. So when I woke up and it was gone, I freaked out."_

_"This is all that's left." Ben stated, sedately revealing the green hourglass-shaped brand on the back of his wrist."_

_Tony stared at the mark for several seconds, "Jarvis run a full body scan on Mister Tennyson please."_

_"At once Sir." JARVIS responded, a bright blue wave of light suddenly covering Ben's body._

_"What are you doing?" Ben had asked, nearly dropping his burger in surprise._

_"Humor me." Tony remarked, tapping the table in an intricate pattern, revealing a holo-screen that appeared to be showing Ben's musculoskeletal structure, organs, and nervous system. Ben didn't notice anything at first, but Dr. Pym let out an awed gasp._

_"JARVIS, enhance the picture around his heart, brain-stem and and spinal column if you would please._

_JARVIS acquiesced revealing that covering the inside of Ben's body where thing silver and black stands ending in vibrant green light. They had worked into every part of his body seamlessly, though the most recognizable feature was the large green hourglass that had been formed in the center of his chest._

_"What is...is that the Omnitrix?!" Ben had asked flabbergasted, his food ultimately forgotten._

_"It looks like you didn't lose it eh kid?" Tony had joked, though his eyes were rabidly searching the hologram, "In fact I doubt you'll ever get closer."_

_"Fascinating." Pym had muttered, "It is almost organic in design, and the pathways that it chose while being incredibly invasive don't seem to have done any damage...at all!"_

* * *

 

From there it had turned into technobabble that Ben had quickly tuned out. He still had the Omnitrix, so that was one less thing to worry about...though he couldn't shake the feeling that he was missing something.

JARVIS's voice cut through this musings, "Will all Avengers please report to Mission Control, thank you.

Ben shot to his feet, and steadily made his way downstairs linking up with Daisy and Hank on the way down.

"What's going on?" Ben asked, getting a noncommittal shrug from Hank, who was too preoccupied tinkering with the latest iteration of his helmet to acknowledge the question.

"Coulson is here to give us a mission briefing." Skye offered, "I'm not sure for what though."

Ben nodded, as the trio rounded the corner finding the meeting room already occupied by a placidly smiling Coulson, fidgeting Janet, and Banner, who was sipping a cup of tea peacefully.

"We'll get started when Pepper gets back." Coulson offered, as the trio sat down, Hank falling into place next to Jan, Ben sitting by Banner while to his minor annoyance Daisy plopped down beside him, "She had to tear Tony away from his latest toy."

Several minutes later a severely cowed Stark walked in, hair matted with sweat and engine grease hastily wiped on his jeans. Pepper walked in behind him, looking prim and proper as always in her white blazer and pencil skirt.

"So now that we're all here, let's get started." Coulson said in a tone that made Ben think in another life he would have made the perfect teacher.

A holographic globe of the world appeared along with several classified files and newspaper headings. Several glowing pinpricks of light covered the globe spread from New York to the Outback of Australia.

"As you all know four months ago on the Summer Solstice an unknown entity or entities created the Dome." Coulson stated, Ben sat silently watching the others nod. For a split second her thought about telling the assembled heroes of what had truly transpired but he shook it off. It could wait for a later time, probably after he'd told them of his true origins.

Coulson continued, drawing Ben out of his musing, "We've kept the public focused on the Dome because if they knew the short and long of it, there would be world-wide panic."

"The short and long of it being what exactly?" Janet asked, sitting forward expectantly.

Coulson appeared to put on fifty years as his smile disappeared, "The Dome is just the tip of the iceberg Miss Van Dyne and believe me the deeper SHIELD investigates the worse it gets."

Several video clips appeared on screen showing several buildings in different states of destruction, red energy reminiscent of the Dome coursing across them.

"A particle accelerator explosion in Central City, Michigan." Coulson stated, pointing at the first video.

"SHIELD-allied supermax prisons across the globe losing all security, leading to one of the largest simultaneous prison breaks in world history."

"The London Museum cracking like an egg due to a localized earthquake." Coulson finished, letting out a long defeated sigh, "It's like we're stuck in a…"

"Waking Nightmare." Ben finished unintentionally, drawing the room's attention, "Right?"

"Exactly." Coulson affirmed.

"Which prison's were taken down?" Banner asked, his eyes glowing green for millisecond as his hands tensed involuntarily. A sudden tension filled the room, as Tony and Ben inched slowly away from their teammate.

"Thankfully the Cube's still locked tight." Coulson answered, smirking slightly as the tension seemed to immediately evaporate, "As is the Zoo. However the Vault, Asylum, and Raft report all inmates unaccounted for."

A low grumble went around the table just as Ben interjected, "I'm sorry but can someone tell Mister Missing Memories what all of that meant?"

"They're a series of prisons dealing with different kinds of super villains." Tony said evenly, "The Cube takes Gammas and Non-Terrestrials, The Zoo is a mutant wild life sanctuary, the Vault was home to every evil nerd who misused technology, the Asylum was for the clinically insane and possibly rehabilitatable and the Raft was for the one's at the very top of SHIELD's shit-list, the big kahunas if you will. That make any sense?"

"A bit yeah." Ben responded, turning back to Coulson, "So are you asking us to focus on catching the escaped inmates?"

"No, SHIELD has most of that well in hand." Coulson said, shaking his hand, "Fury just asked me to give you the full stock of the situation."

"Besides, the Asylum's Gargoyle doesn't want any of us moving in on their turf. Right Coulson?" Tony joked, leaning back in his chair slightly.

"Yes, they prefer that SHIELD stays out of their business and for the moment Fury is willing to comply." Coulson agreed, "But back to the matter at hand, there was an...occurrence at the Bronx Checkpoint earlier this morning."

Coulson then went on to describe the events that had transpired, which lead to several of the Avenger's vibrating in their seats.

"Why didn't you lead with that Coulson?" Daisy asked, jabbing a finger at her former mentor aggressively, "This should have taken precedence."

"And I agree but the Director wanted me to explain the entire situation first before getting into the situation revolving around Jacob Reece." Coulson explained, his plain-faced facade slipping slightly.

"But why?" Hank fired back, his eyes flashing angrily, "A seven year old boy is lost in the Dome, dealing with powers he doesn't understand and Fury just sits on it?"

"It's the source of Jacob's powers that make it all relevant." Coulson said calmly, a mug shot of a thin man with wild brown hair and glowing magenta eyes appearing next to him, "This man is Owen Reece, aka Molecule Man, a key suspect behind the origin of the Dome and he just happens to beJacob's father."

"Oh shit." Tony swore, sucking in air through his teeth, "That's not good."

The other Avenger's beside Ben reacted quite the same, Banner breaking the arms of his chair before regaining his composure. Janet's mouth was wide open, while Hank was making a sound like a deflating car tire. Piper who up until this point had been standing next to Tony silently, gasped and put her hand over her mouth while Daisy appeared to be actually vibrating as she muttered something vaguely threatening under her breath in Mandarin.

"I take it that is a very bad thing?" Ben asked, once again feeling the fool for his lack of even general knowledge of this world's dilemmas.

"Owen is one of the most powerful Omega Class individuals SHIELD has ever came across." Coulson offered, "He can manipulate the chemical structure of anything around him nearly at a whim. The only reason we ever took him into custody was because he gave himself up."

"And he's out too I take it?" Tony asked, his mind now working in overdrive as he tried to piece together a plan that could even begin to alleviate this impending disaster.

"The personal from the Raft say the only reason they survived was because he interceded between them and the other convicts." Coulson offered, "He just stood there until the others left and then walked out without even a sound...no one has any idea where he went."

"And now a seven year old child, his child, with the powers of a god is running around an already volatile mixture of mutagenic energy scared out of his mind." Banner muttered, "Leave it to Ross and his goons to make a situation twenty times worse."

"Speaking of which Fury doesn't want you, or the Hulk on this OP." Coulson warned, "Instead now that things have cooled down he wants you, Dr. Pym and my Team to investigate the Star labs Particle Accelerator Explosion."

"What's he expecting to find?" Hank asked.

"At this point even the smallest hint could jump this entire investigation forward." Coulson responded, "SHIELD is floundering at the moment, and the Council wants an answer, any answer."

"And it's our job to find that answer." Tony snarked, "Alright then folks we've got our missions. Tremors, Bumblebee, New Kid you're with me. Greenday, Bugs Life give Wells my best."

Now if anyone needs me I'll be bolting on my work cloths, I'll meet you," Tony pointed at Ben, Janet and Daisy, "At the checkpoint. Go team!"

And without another word he bolted, leaving the remaining heroes in a state of confusion.

"Is that…" Ben began to ask before Banner finished his question for him, "A regular thing? Yes, yes it is."

**The Bronx Checkpoint, 11:10 EDT**

Daisy let out out a low whistle as she pulled her bike to a stop in front of the massacred checkpoint. Next to her Ben screeched to a stop, his new form looked like a fusion of a raptor and a rally-car racer, a black and green body suit covering much of his body except his black taloned hands, blue two toed feet that wrapped around small black spheres and long blue reptilian tail. His visor slid upwards to reveal black lips, small fangs and solid green eyes.

"Damn." He muttered, his voice vibrating softly.

Tony landed beside them in full armor, though it wasn't the normal red-and-gold. Instead it had a more muted coloration of dark grey and muted silver.

"I've seen what Owen could do first hand." Tony stated, scanning the glass footprints leading into the Dome, "He could take a copper pipe and turn it into a adamantium staff...hell he turned one of my armors to tissue paper with a gesture."

"To think of all that power in the hands of a seven year old...it's more than a little frightening." Wasp said, flitting from her position on Daisy's neck.

"You'd be surprised." Ben stated cryptically, his eyes traveling along the monitor turned into blossoming cherry tree, "Everyone thinks absolute power corrupts absolutely...but I'm not sure that's true."

"What do you mean?" Daisy asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Well...I turned out fine didn't I?" Ben said, giving her a soft smile before disappearing in a blur as he raced to find Agent Stewart and Corporal Montoya.

Daisy watched him go and once again she found herself wondering just who exactly Tony had invited to the Team. She was grateful for Ben saving her life but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something off about him, not speaking of the blatant lies about his origin, which the Director and Coulson had quickly pulled apart after she had delivered them her testimony.

He was an enigma, an utter unknown and his unfamiliarity with even some of the smallest everyday things just raised even more questions. Fitz had bet her that he actually was some form of alien cyborg that used his human guise to make the others more comfortable around him, all apart of some clever ruse or invasion plan. Daisy had scoffed at the wild accusation but after seeing how comfortable he was in any form he took she couldn't help but wonder.

After several minutes of silent investigation Ben had returned, once again human with Agent Stewart and Corporal Montoya in tow. The former was a tall, slightly imposing man of African-American descent, with kind dark brown eyes, military length black hair dressed in blue-and-white SHIELD combats.

The later was a woman of average height, with long black hair tied in a tight ponytail, lightly tanned skin, harsh brown eyes dressed in the green-and-grey combats of the Gamma Corp.

"Agent Johnson." Stewart said, reaching out a hand which she took gladly, "Nice to see you again, though I have to say your friend here gave us a bit of a scare."

Ben smirked playfully. He was dressed incredibly casually for someone going on a deadly mission in hell on Earth, in a dark green leather jacket, a black and white shirt, khakis and brown hiking boots. He was a ghost after all, so there was no need to protect any kind of secret identity.

"Can you tell us what exactly happened here?" Tony asked, his face-plate popping open as he walked over.

"Well like the report says this mother and her child just stumbled out of the Dome...I think they had some help since I saw someone retreating back in as I approached." Agent Stewart explained. "They made it to the checkpoint and then...everything went to hell."

He shot a writhing glare at Montoya who picked up the thread, "We scanned the mother, a one Cynthia Sanford, and she came back clear. Then we scanned Jacob Reece...and well he came back positive for active mutation."

"I took the mother aside to explain the situation," Stewart stated, "Said that everything would be fine in the end her child was just going to need to be evaluated and added into our data-banks. She started crying and was about to tell me something...when i heard Jacob calling out for help. I turned the corner and the next thing I saw was Montoya drawing her weapon on a terrified seven year old kid!"

Montoya sneered and yelled back, "He knocked me clear off my feet and turned the pavement to glass! I was trying to neutralize the situation before it got worse!"

"He was a scared little kid!" Stewart yelled, "And you pulling your weapon just escalated the situation!"

"That scared little kid nuked our check point!" Montoya fired back, "You were a Marine, you should understand in war there are situ-"

Stewart moved in an instant his right fist slamming viciously across Montoya's right cheek before Daisy intervened quaking them away from each other.

"That's enough! Daisy yelled, stepping between them, placing a hand on each of their chests, "I understand that tensions are high right now, but this won't solve anything."

"Yes Mam." The former-soldiers stated calmly as they straightened up, Montoya clutching her bruised cheek.

"Well now that we've got that out of our systems, JARVIS and I have coordinated Jacob's clearest path back into the Dome." Tony stated, "But the deeper in we go the more my scanners will get scrambled so we'll need another way of tracking him."

"I've got that covered." Ben stated confidently.

"I'm going with you." Stewart said placing a hand on Daisy's arm.

"That isn't necessary, we can handle ourselves." Wasp said, a small smirk playing across her lips, "We're pretty bad-ass after all."

"That's not it Miss." Stewart stated seriously, "I made a promise to that boy's Mother to get him back and I plan on keeping that promise."

The Avengers shared a questioning look before Tony broke the tensions, "The more the merrier I say! Grab whatever gear you need and meet us back here."

Stewart nodded, brushing past Montoya as he walked away, who just mutely glared after him before turning back towards them.

"I'm guessing you're not coming with us?" Ben asked, a bit of distaste entering his voice.

"Someone's got to hold this place together." Montoya snarked unpleasantly, marching away without another word.

"What an unpleasant woman." Wasp stated evenly, watching her walk away "So what's the play Ben."

Ben didn't say anything at first as he closed his eyes, before his form suddenly changed, thick grey fur growing over his body as he shot up a foot. In his place stood what could only be described as a werewolf dressed in green and black biker gear.

"This is." Ben stated, his voice a thick growl, "Say hello to Blitzwolfer, once Tony loses his scanners I'll take point. This guy's sense of smell is impeccable...in fact I think that Montoya woman was wearing your brand of perfume Wasp."

"So maybe she's not that unpleasant." Wasp joked, just as Stewart appeared wearing a bulletproof vest and holding a large dual barreled rifle.

"Ready to go." John stated, though he started slightly at the appearance of Ben's new form.

"Alright then folks, let's get a move on." Tony stated, "Fido and I'll take point once we go in, but be careful we have no clue what to expect under there."

The that the quintet set out, taking one last look at the blue sky above before entering the crimson tinted light of the Dome.

**Elsewhere**

This kill had been messier than the others, not that he really cared anymore. These 'Watchdogs' had shot at him first, calling him an 'inhuman freak'. They were partially right he wasn't a freak but every day he lost more and more of the little humanity he'd had to begin with. He marveled at his appearance in a nearby puddle of water, marveling at the red-and-black second skin that had grown over his left arm and much of the left side of his face. His teeth were slowly sharpening into fangs; but where once he would have been disgusted by this change he reveled in it.

Michael Morningstar had always been a predator, in more ways than one, and now he finally looked and truly felt the part. No one under this Dome were safe from him, and his appetite was increasing and diversifying by the day. As the poor desiccated and dismembered bodies of the seven Watchdogs that had found him had quickly discovered. The only ones to escape his wrath were the beasts that poured from the deserted Zoo every time he tried to reach the gem inside. They were too strong and too numerous to take alone...not yet anyway.

The hunger was the only downside, one that refused to go away not matter how much he drank of others. Michael's head turned and looked toward the south, scenting the air, almost against his will, with a long, sinuous black tongue. There is was again, more energy and power than he had ever dreamed of. More than even Lovely Gwen or Charmcaster had to offer, and it was slowly but surely headed right towards him.

"Good." He rasped, and animalistic growl escaping him as he licked his lips once again. He slowly crept into the darkness, heading for his next meal...perhaps this one would actually sate him.

**And so ends Chapter One of the Under the Dome Arc. Next time a fight with an unexpected enemy, an interesting twist of fate, and Ben reunites with an old friend. Those with a keen eye and even those without will notice several bold faced tidbits that will prove fully that this Marvel Universe isn't the mainstream, the MCU or even one that has been touched upon before. Ben has entered into a world that will get progressively wilder and more than a tad wackier as time progresses.**

**So yeah Nightmare/Gwen really did a number on the world, and she isn't anywhere near done yet. A little clue, she hit all of those places for a reason. One that will be revealed within good time.**

**As for Ben not just easily transitioning into this world. Well I've read too many fics that use that trope myself and figured to take the opposite approach. Yes I know Ben's hopped universe's before, but each time more or less it was the same world with just one thing or another twisted differently. In this case he's entering a world where, he, his family, his friends, and even his home-town never existed...the wider cosmos however might be quite familiar...bits of it at least.**

**I had a bit where Ben explained his feelings about his fellow Avenger's but I think I'll save that till a later date. I'm planning on putting the Full Warped Timeline out soonish, though fair warning it may contain a spoiler or two for the future of this story.**

**Sorry this took so long, but he life got really chaotic for a bit there, things are better now and hopefully I'll be able to write more but you never know. Shoot me any questions, comments or criticism you wish I'm open to em all. VerBeek Signing Off!**


	8. Dust to Dust

**Hey, been a long time huh...yeah sorry about that but I've been really damn busy as of late with my new job, a sudden dip of interest in this story a renewed interest in an old story that I might post in a few days/weeks and a little thing called Starfinder. But here we are, so as always I do not own MCU or Ben 10. Italics are flashbacks, and emphasis (Brackets are telepathy). Last time we'd left our heroes and their disgruntled marine tag-along just as they entered the Dome, let's catch back up to them shall we?**

**Infinity Chapter VIII**

**Dust to Dust**

**Unknown Location, Time and Place**

Daisy stared up at the red tinted sky, trying to gauge how long they had been under the dome. To her growing frustration she found she couldn't even see the sun. Around the group sat the shattered and warped forms of buildings, most of which were coated in a thick grey dust.

"Any clue how long we've been walking for?" Daisy asked, as Ben scrambled up part of wrecked wall beside her.

"JARVIS is telling me we've only been walking for about an hour." Tony supplied, following her gaze skyward.

"I wouldn't put much stock in that." John stated, jumping over a car that had melted into the pavement, "Time doesn't pass the way you expect it to in parts of the Dome, sure we might have only been walking for an hour...or maybe half the day has gone by without us noticing. I remember the time one squad went missing for two weeks on a routine patrol, we thought something in this hellscape had got them. Turned up out of the blue thinking they'd only been gone three hours."

Blitzwolfer let out a low whistle, while Tony just shook his head, "I've read the reports but is it really all true?"

"Every bit. Who ever caused this has a whole hell of a lot to answer for." John stated angrily, "Terrigen Storms, localized gamma radiation, the time dilation, distorted gravity, streets and buildings seemingly changing places on a whim, it's a waking nightmare! "

Ben tensed slightly, memories of his arrival flashing before his eye's, "No argument here."

"And that's not even getting into people running around this place." John continued, "Watchdogs, Morlocks, Gammas and don't even get me started on the things coming out of the Bronx Zoo."

"What are the Watchdogs?" Ben asked, sniffing the air for any trace of Jacob, "And the Morlocks for that matter."

"The Watchdogs are a paramilitary group that has a special hate in their heart for all super-powered individuals." Daisy offered, grimacing coldly, "They've been a pain in SHIELD's ass for a while now."

"The Morlocks are a bit of a mystery however." John offered, "All we know is they are directly opposed to the Watchdogs, offering safe-haven and even ferrying out any powered individuals they come across. They aren't particularly fond of SHIELD and they downright hate the Gamma Corp but we haven't had a issue with them...yet."

The quintet walked in silence for a bit before Wasp flitted up to John, a curious glint in her eye.

"So what's your story?" Wasp asked, perching on John's shoulder as their group continued down the shattered street, "Can't really think of many people that would voluntarily walk into a near literal Hell."

"It wouldn't be my first time." Jon responded, his eyes narrowing slightly, his eyes flicking about the surrounding buildings, "Spent three tours of duty in the Middle East."

Daisy walked on beside them listening quietly while one of Ben's ears flicked backwards to catch what was being said while the other continued to listen for any incoming dangers.

Jon continued, his expression getting a bit haunted, "I wanted to make a difference, fight the good fight you know...but things got muddy."

Tony looked backwards, "Where were you stationed?"

"Afghanistan." John responded, "We were trying to stop the Ten Rings from taking over the region...but for every win they'd get three. I was on a patrol near Gulmira when an enemy patrol hit us using Stark made weapons. I managed to get away with a broken leg and shrapnel lodged in my left shoulder."

The group had stopped, all attention on John as he and Tony stared at each other.

"So there I am, in a medical tent pissed off as all hell, mourning my friends, when I hear that this gaudy red-and-gold something just fell out of the sky over Gulmira and did our work for us." John finished, locking eyes with Tony, "In one day you managed to do more than we had in months."

Tony stayed silent for a couple seconds, "The man who saved my life was from that village...he died so I could live...and in the end he wasn't the only one. There was this group of soldiers, college age the lot of them, that saw me as some kind of hero. All because I made things that went boom and they were pointed at the bad guys. They died after that truth changed in less than a second."

"War's hell." They said at the same time. After that the two fell into step with Wasp repostioned on Daisy's shoulder to their left and Ben walking several steps ahead.

"I hated you for a bit." John stated honestly, shooting Tony a side-eye.

"So did I." Stark remarked honestly, "Drove myself into the ground over it more than once."

"But then I saw what you did during the Invasion." John said, looking over at Janet and Daisy, "All of you, I was in Detroit watching grainy cellphone footage while you were out there risking your lives...and hell some of you didn't make it out of that fight."

Daisy looked down, clutching her arms to her chest tightly but continued walking.

"I joined up with SHIELD the very next day." John stated, looking around at the others one last time, "You made me believe in heroes again...and right now…"

"The world could use a few." Ben finished, nodding his head in agreement.

"Well, that's enough soul-bearing for one day." John stated, snapping back to his professional demeanor, "Because right about now, Jacob's the one in need of heroes."

* * *

 

There it was again...a familiar taste carried to him on the wind, muddling the trail of his prey. It was growing closer as were the faint hint of voices. A snack before the main meal...good he'd at least try to savor it before the burning, ravenous hunger came roaring back.

He slunk forwards, what remained of Micheal quite impressed at how easily he scaled the wall, long black claws protruding out of his fingers. He crouched down planning on leaping down upon whatever sorry group fate had sent his way. The Watchdogs, those freaks lead by a man worryingly familiar, the random regular civilian or SHIELD patrol, it didn't matter to him, they were all meat under his salivating fangs.

He peered from the shadows taking stock of his new targets.

A run-of-the-mile SHIELD agent toting a rifle, child's play.

A woman dressed in black kevlar laced suit who's life energy seemed to constantly vibrate...she'd be an interesting one.

A small spark that he couldn't quite pinpoint flitting amongst the group...another oddity he'd enjoy catching.

Then there was a figure clad in grey-and-silver automated armor...whose energy seemed to be directly tied into the energy springing from the light in the center of the suits chest.

And then there was….

"Tennyson." He growled, the second skin coating his body quivering with fear and rage.

Despite the canine appearance there was no doubt in his mind that the creature before him was Ben. His mind suddenly felt like it was being pulled in half, what was left of his sensible human side begging to flee, go back to the hunt of their previous prey while the primal feral side screamed to leap down there and eviscerate Tennyson for every transgression Ben had leveled against him. He sat there for several second body with trembling with strain before a new scent caught his nose...Gamma.

Climbing higher, clinging to the shadows that hid him from scrutiny, he was able to spot the heaving form of some poor Gamma mutated freak deep in a fitful sleep. His savage mind quickly formed a crude plan...one that would hopefully work for his favor.

* * *

 

"Hold up." Ben stated, scenting the air, his ears twitching alertly, "I think something over to our right just moved…though the snoring to the left is kind of drowning everything else out."

"Snoring?" Wasp asked with a hint of nervousness, "What kind of snoring?"

"It's deep, hitching like their something stuck in it's throat and oh god I just caught a whiff of it's breath." Ben spluttered, clamping a hand over his nose, "It's breath smells like a rotting dumpster!"

"My scanners aren't picking anything up." Tony stated with a hint of frustration, "Of course they'd crap out at the most important time...JARVIS, remind me to start working on some new interchangeable armors. Code-name: HAZARD."

"Of course sir." JARVIS responded, "I would also like to inform you that nearly eight hours have passed since your last check in."

"Great."Tony muttered, "Thanks J."

"I suggest moving past this area as quietly as we can." John stated, crouching down low to the ground, "That thing is either a Gamma or from the Zoo, and they are equally bad news, especially if taken by surprise."

The others nodded when Daisy spotted something dart across the road ahead of them on all fours.

"Guys I think there is something…"

She was cut off by a high pitched shriek that sounded like a giant bat combined with a dying car it was answered by a deep bellow similar to an angered bull. That was followed by a loud crashing noise as something massive suddenly raced towards them.

"Get back!" Tony yelled, leaping into the air just as the clothing store to their left exploded, throwing dust and concrete everywhere. A single octopus like tentacle erupted from the dust followed by a second and then a third, covered in sharp spikes. The creatures egg shaped body followed soon afterwards, one massive green eye perched above a massive fanged mouth that almost spilt the torso horizontally when opened all supported by three elephantine legs. The beast let out another foghorn-like bellow, lashing out at the closest of the heroes which so happened to be Ben.

Ben ducked under the first swing, leaping into the air a moment later to avoid a crushing down swing. He barely had time to register the fourth tentacle before it was planted squarely in his back, sending him flying across the street. He managed to sink his claws into the ground slowing his momentum before he crashed into anything. He then charged back into the fight on all fours, sliding under the creatures tripodal legs to aim a vicious slash at it's back. The creature bellowed in pain, striking out at him again only for Ben to dance away.

"Open fire!" John yelled, quickly checking off his rifle's safety before releasing a barrage of bullets. Most bounced off the creature's hide, though a few met their mark. Wasp, Iron Man and Daisy quickly followed suit laying down a rain of energy bolts, repulsor blasts and thrown terrain.

The creature backed up slowly under the persistent barrage but other than small wounds that almost immediately healed and a growing sense of irritation they did little to actually injure the beast. It finally planted itself, a low gurgling shaking the air before it opened its mouth and vomited a mass of rancid green slime at it's attackers.

"Oh that is just utterly disgusting." Wasp quipped, darting out of the way. The others followed suit but this allowed the beast to fully wield it's tentacles to their full capacity and it did so with great gusto. It slammed Iron Man aside with one swing, knocking him through the window of another shop, where he slammed through several ransacked jewelry cases before crashing into the counter.

"Ow." Tony deadpanned, pushing himself to his feet, "Definitely going to feel that one in the morning."

"You will be feeling it for several days sir, perhaps a weak." JARVIS noted, "It appears that blow might have cracked one of your ribs."

"Perfect." Tony snarked, activating his repulsors, "Well here goes round two."

Meanwhile the beast had been busy, snatching up John and tossing him like a pop-fly. Daisy moved in an instant, forming a bubble of vibrations under him before he could hit the ground.

"Thanks for the save." John muttered, as Daisy rushed up to him.

"No problem." Daisy stated, looking back to where Ben and Wasp were running circles around the creature, aiming the odd claw or sting to keep it distracted from the others, "Now I need you to backup a few feet."

"Why what are y-" John began to ask as he backed up.

Daisy never heard the end of the question as she launched herself into the air with a quake blast, sending her rocketing at the creature. Flipping around in midair she aimed her feet directly at the creatures eye. Slamming into it with the force of a truck, and then releasing a focused quake she leapt back off of the creature as it reeled around, bellowing in pain.

Looking up she noticed a long claw mark along it's back that didn't match Ben's claws. It was leaking deep green blood, and appeared to be quite deep.

"It's wounded?" Daisy stated in surprise, catching John and the returned Tony's attention, "We're barely doing a tick of damage against this thing…"

"Yet something in here managed to do that," John finished, "Recently...that can't be good."

Meanwhile Ben had decided enough was enough, looking over at Janet, "Cover your ears."

He planted his feet, his jaw splitting into four pieces, causing Jan to shiver involuntarily as she clamped her hands over her ears.

"AROOOO!" Blitzwolfer cried, a deafening sonic howl escaping his body, pushing the creature off it's feet, slamming it into the building. It began to push against the force of the howl, seemingly unaffected by the sound itself. The others quickly joined Ben, opening fire with their respective weapons and powers, peppering the creature until a cloud of smoke surrounded it's impressive form.

Ben stopped howling and went down on one knee, sucking in great lungfuls of air.

"Is...is it down?" He coughed,getting up to one knee. As if in answer the creature suddenly emerged from the smoke, collapsing to the ground with a low pained groan. It's tentacles squirmed pitifully on the ground, it's damaged eye half closed, it's breathing slow.

"I'd say yes." John stated calmly but coldly, raising his rifle, aiming at the creature's eye, "But not out."

"What are you doing?" Wasp demanded, staring him down, "It's done fighting.

"For no, but it'll get up again later, you saw how much trouble this thing gave us." John stated, clearly unhappy with what he felt had to be done, "Think about if a regular civilian came through here looking for shelter, it would tear them apart."

Wasp looked around at the others, all of whom seemed to accept John's analysis but hated that it had to happen. Ben shock his head aggressively, but found he couldn't find his voice.

He raised his rifle again and the world seemed to slow down for Ben, a small indistinguishable voice in his mind saying three words, "Mutated. Human. Pain."

"No!" He roared, moving like lightning, catching the barrel of John's gun and pointing it skyward causing the shot to miss high.

"Ben?" Daisy asked, in surprise, "What are you doing?"

"It's...it's a person!" Ben coughed, stumbling forward, crouching down next to the poor figure.

"What?!" John stated, a mixture of shock and horror overcoming him, "You mean this was...my God I almost…"

Daisy and Wasp stood there stunned, while Tony walked forward, angrily mumbling at his suit.

"Come on damn you." Tony stated, "I built you to be resistant to all kinds of radiation, can you at least work with me here!"

There was a quiet beep and suddenly the scanners came back on, scanning the fallen slowly breathing form.

"JARVIS, what are we looking at here?" Tony asked projecting an image of the creatures internal workings for the assembled heroes.

"According to my files, with some help from Dr Banner's dissertations, this appears to be a fairly extreme form of Gamma Irradiation." JARVIS offered, "I do not believe he is able to turn back from this form."

"So he's stuck like this?" Wasp asked, hugging herself slightly

"I am afraid so Miss Van Dyne." JARVIS responded, a hint of sadness coloring his speech.

"The Gamma Corp would shoot him on sight no questions asked." John stated, rubbing the back of his head anxiously, "Hell I almost shot him... I almost killed a civilian!"

"But you didn't." Daisy stated evenly.

"That doesn't make it better." John stated, looking down at himself angrily.

Meanwhile Ben had been crouched down next to the creature, whispering to it softly, "It's okay, we'll find you help. I promise."

His eye swiveled to face him, a low gurgling voice escaping, "Why always hurt?"

"I'm sorry." Ben stated, slightly taken aback that he could understand it, "We...we didn't know."

"Ben are you...Ben look out!" Daisy cried, punching a quake at something above his head.

Snapping to attention he looked up to see one of Albedo's amalgams crouched upon the creature's body, though it looked different. It was more beastial, with organic looking fangs, and bright golden markings in-place of the singular red eye. Crouched on all fours it was staring at him with such a sense of hatred and hunger that it caused him to take a step back.

"Tennyson." The amalgam rasped, before launching at him at full force. It grabbed him by the throat and tossed him backwards so forcefully he slammed into a wall on the opposite side of the street.

Shaking the stars from its eyes he watched at it quickly and brutally took John and Daisy to the ground, backhanded a shrunken Wasp into a nearby upturned care and punched Tony backwards several feet. It's head then turned at an almost unnatural angle and looked at him, a long black tongue coming out to caress it's lips. Darting under Tony's wild grb it raced forwards and leapt landing right before Ben.

He tried to open up his mouth to release another sonic howl only for the amalgam to grab him by the muzzle and slammed him to the ground, before leaping on top of him and holding him down by the throat.

"Got you." The amalgam rasped, "Finally got you."

Ben struggled against the amalgam's grip, his eyes burning with a cold fury mixed with confusion, "You sure about that?"

He quickly unhinged his jaw and howled, blasting the amalgams head back. It screamed and he watched in wonder as the second skin of the amalgam pulled back revealing a familiar grey skinned nose-less face.

"Darkstar?!" Ben cried in surprise.

"I am going to slaughter you!" Darkstar cried, the second skin reattaching itself, "But before you die I'm going to tell you one more thing. Darkstar is dead! I am Ravenous."

"He might be dead, but you sure as hell talk just like him." A new voice stated, as a length of iron chains suddenly wrapped around Ravenous. Ben watched as the creature was pulled off of him and was drawn through the air to be slammed through the remaining pillar out front of a destroyed bank.

Ravenous snarled, aggressively leaping to its feet only to freeze, staring down not only the Avengers and John but a collection of men in women in ragged cloths lead by a tall man dressed in a desiccated black hoody, his face obscured by the hood, a small wrecking ball clenched in his hand.

The Amalgam looked around angrily, before flipping behind the hall. Several of the ragged individuals made to follow him only to stop at the hooded man's gesture.

"Not now, we'll track down that scum-lord later right now we've got people to take care of.

The assembled figures nodded, several walking past the confused heroes to check on the downed Gamma Mutant, while the hooded gentleman and several followers stalked towards them. Ben pushed himself to his feet, waving off one of the concerned individuals with a distinctly catlike appearance under her hood.

"Thanks for the save...Mr.?" Tony asked, looking over the hooded figure in his companions.

"Crusher." The figure said gruffly, though Ben froze recognizing his voice almost immediately.

"Mr. Crusher, well thank you for the save." Tony stated again, "We're the Aven-."

"I know who you are." Crusher stated, evenly looking them all over, "I also know that SHIELD sent you in here looking for a one Jacob Reece."

"And how would you know that?" John asked, a warning look on his face.

"Because I was the one who helped Jake and his Mom get out of here." Crusher countered, his tone ice cold, "And one of my people spotted him reentering the Dome."

"So you can help us?" Daisy asked, "We're trying to get him back, back to safety."

"Helping you remains to be seen." Crusher stated gruffly, "After all the last time we trusted SHIELD with one of our own you just chased him back in."

"You'll help us." Ben stated, transforming back to human, "Because in the long run we need each other."

Crusher froze on seeing Ben's face, but quickly regained composure, "You've got a point."

He turned and shouted to his followers, "Wheels up in five minutes Morlocks! Brick, Clay I want that Gamma loaded up on the transport truck and brought to Elixir as soon as we get back home. Inferno, your truck gets the Shield Agent plus the Avengers except, him."

He pointed at Ben, "That one's coming with me. Let's move people."

The assembled Morlocks nodded, as two of the larger individuals bent down and picked up the Gamma almost effortlessly while a younger man gestured for the Avengers to follow after him.

Daisy looked back at Ben who, gave her a confused shrug and a thumbs up noting that he'd be fine.

"Nice to see you again Tennyson." Crusher said, pulling his hood back to reveal a bald head, hard blackish brown eyes and a prominent scared chin.

"Good to see you to Levin." Ben stated, clapping his best friend warmly on the back, who soon returned the favor.

* * *

 

"That was odd." Daisy voiced as they trundled along in the back of a pickup truck that had been converted into a form of troop transport. John appeared to have nodded off while Wasp was busy upfront chatting up the driver.

"What was? The creepy crawling thing appearing out of nowhere to assault Ben or a random group of Morlocks, lead by a guy with a shitty alias showing up to save him?" Tony asked sarcastically, "Were you going to say both, because it's definitely both right?"

"Both." Daisy responded, looking over at Tony with a serious expression, "They all knew each other, you could tell by the body language and the way this "Crusher's" mood changed not a miniature after spotting him."

"Just another mystery surrounding dear Mister Tennyson." Tony snarked, pulling his helmet off and opening a small holographic screen.

"That's all he is Tony." Daisy stated, "One big mystery, are you sure it was a wise idea letting him join the Avengers?"

"Was it a good idea?" Tony pondered, tapping his chin, "No, but it was either this or let him wipe the floor with everything Old Nick could throw at him before Banner finally took him down. And that would mean he'd be pissed off at us and locked up in the raft refusing to answer any of our questions."

"However we get him on the Team, gain his trust, then he might just come off and tell us the truth about him, that "Omnitrix" of his and whatever he knows about the Dome." Tony remarked, "And of course Fury still gets to know what he wants to know, just on my terms."

"But what if he doesn't want to tell us the truth." Daisy countered.

"Don't worry Daisy." Tony stated, with a cryptic smirk, "It'll all come out eventually."

He refitted his helmet, and smirked quietly to himself as the bug he'd placed on Ben started playing audio.

* * *

 

"I can't believe I found you man." Ben stated, a genuine smile crossing his face for one of the first times since arriving, "Well almost all of you."

"Ha, ha." Kevin snarked, rubbing his bald head, "Make fun of the bald guy. It just won't grow back man, I don't know what to tell you. Besides like you're one to talk man, what happened to your eyes man?"

"What do you mean?" Ben asked, touching the skin under his eyes confused.

"They were glowing man, like bright emerald green...and you...dude where's your watch?" Kevin asked, startled.

"It's a long story." Ben stated, with a hint of reservation, "The short side of it I still have my powers, though they take a bigger strain on me than they used to."

"Yeah...mine changed to thanks to this Dome." Kevin stated with a slight smirk, "Not that i'm complaining though."

"So how exactly did you become the big boss of a gang of mutants?" Ben asked, nodding back towards the small caravan following their truck.

"I'm not the big boss, I'm one of the big bosses." Kevin explained, "Calypso and Porter have been doing this kind of stuff a lot longer than I have but the Dome that was a new challenge. One that I excelled at meeting."

"What do you mean?" Ben asked, looking over at him.

"This place Ben...it's like the Null Void brought to Earth." Kevin stated, his eyes narrowing, "And whoever did this is going to pay for it. Gwen's lost in here and I won't rest until I found her."

Ben suddenly felt a sudden rush of guilt and sadness, "Kevin, about Gwen…"

"Hold on to that." Kevin stated, nodding forward, "We're here."

Ben looked out the window to see a large tunnel approaching them. As they dipped into the earth the red light disappeared and was replaced with a warm gold light.

The exited the tunnel several minutes later into a large cavern seemingly constructed out of old subway tunnels. Dozens of shanty houses had been built, with people milling around, several of which looked up at the caravan with a look of resigned hope.

"Welcome to The Morlocks Safe Haven. " Kevin stated, "Dust Town."

**And that's the end. Sorry this took so long, hopefully I won't ever go on a hiatus that long again. Next time revelations, rescues and retribution! So here enters Ravenous and Kevin back in Ben's new life. Kevin is largely unaware of what caused the Dome but he does know more about the Marvel World thanks to his time talking with the Morlocks and the powered individuals they save. He has a bit of a bone to pick with SHIELD though he respects the Avengers from word of mouth alone but it will remain to be seen what interactions he will have with them after becoming more friendly with the Team. Ravenous is a creation of my own fusing the worst aspects of Michael Morningstar(which is almost all of them) with the ravenous hunger of one of Marvel's more chaotic bloodthirsty villains. So shoot any comments, concerns or questions my way this has been VerBeek Signing off!**


	9. Dust to Diamonds

**Welcome back! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, I know I did, and if you’d like I somewhat recently posted the first chapters of my first original fic, Beacon’s Watch for y’all to take a peek at. I do not own the MCU(Which is encompassing a lot more as of late) or Ben 10. Italics are flashbacks, and emphasis (Brackets are telepathy). When we last saw our heroes they had entered the relative safe haven of Dust Town, with a very familiar tour guide. Let’s take a walk around town shall we?**

**Infinity Chapter IX**   
**Dust To Diamonds**

**Dust-Town, Date and Time Unknown**

“Welcome to the Morlock’s safe haven,” Kevin stated, “Dust Town.”

“Dust Town?” Ben queered, “That’s the best you could come up with?”

“Got out voted.” Kevin said, nodding at several people as his convoy drove further into the shantytown, “Personally, I wanted to name the place Undertown.”

Ben smirked, “So you told me why you got wrapped up in all of this, but you haven’t told me how?”

“Wait till we get back to my place.” Kevin stated, as he parked the truck, “We’ll swap stories, like how you got involved with the Avengers.”

“How do you know about them?” Ben asked surprised.

“Hearsay, mostly.” Kevin admitted, turning the truck off and opening the door, “Lot’s a folks around here were claiming they’d get back together, fix this, shut down the Dome...though a lot of that talk dropped off after the second month of being stuck in here.”

“Well,” Ben said, watching the others exit the second car, “They’re here now.”

The two hopped out of the truck, Ben having a quick look around. They were standing in what could have been called a town square in a regular city, several small cobbled together houses surrounding them on all sides except straight ahead where a large building had been constructed out of concrete and what looked like the melted remains of subway cars.

“How did you build all this?” Daisy asked in amazement, “It’s only been three months.”

“Perseverance, mainly and five telekinetics, one pyro and about a dozen low-level Gammas.” A new voice stated, drawing the assembled heroes attention.

Leaning on the railing of the large building was a slight woman with short wild black hair, lightly tanned skin and dressed in a revealing black half shirt, and black jeans. A frayed eye patch sat over her right eye while her remaining cerulean eye looked over the group with reserved interest. Ben noticed Kevin tense slightly at his side, as the woman’s eye turned to him and a bright smile crossed her face. Her most definitive and slightly disarming feature however were her arms, which appeared to be made of vibrant green intertwined vines up to her shoulders.

She sauntered down the adjoining ramp, heading for Kevin first, resting, in Ben’s opinion, a somewhat overly formal hand hand on his shoulder.

“So Crusher,” The woman started, her voice dripping seductively, “Are you just going to stand there looking pretty or are you going to introduce me?”

That Kevin managed to keep his composure was a marvel to Ben, “We’ve got regular superheroes in with us today Callisto, found them after they finished fighting a Gamma.”

“Finished?” Callisto repeated, glaring around at them, her eye finally focusing on John’s hefty rifle, “What do you mean finished?”

“Calm down Cal, they didn’t do anything that Foley kid can’t fix.” Kevin consoled, placing a reassuring hand on her arm, “They’re heroes, the Avengers apparently.”

“I recognize the gaudy tin can.” Callisto stated, her anger receding, replaced by wary curiosity once more, “So Mr. Stark, I thought the Avengers were kaput, what changed?”

“Gaudy tin can?!” Tony stated aghast, “Please lady it’s a gaudy titanium can if anything. As for what happened, SHIELD got the band back together, with a few new members as you can see.”

“About three months late if you ask me.” Callisto deadpanned, looking around at the others, “And who are the rest of you?”

Tony stepped forward to introduce the others, “The lady with the near constant smile is Wasp, directly next to her is hacker and shaker supreme Quake, the big man with the big gun is John Agent of SHIELD, and the man standing next to your friend is....uh Xeno yeah that works.”

Ben raised an eyebrow at his impromptu alias, before turning to Callisto, “Nice to meet you.”

Wasp waved cheerily while Daisy and Jon gave rather formal nods in the woman’s direction.

“Before you say anything I know exactly why all of you are here.” Callisto said, cutting Tony off.

“You’re looking for Jacob Reece, a sweet little boy who is now lost in this utter wonderland right after Crusher,” She paused laying a hand on Kevin’s shoulder, “Managed to get the poor kid and his mother out of here.”

“I take responsibility for that.” John stated, holstering his rifle, “My partner and I mishandled the situation, which sent Jacob into a minor panic attack and resulted in the activation of his powers.”

“Those powers being?” Callisto asked, all of her attention focused on John, allowing Kevin to extricate himself from her grasp.

“His father...is Owen Reece.” Daisy supplied, “And it appears Jacob inherited his abilities.”

Callisto’s eyes widened, “Well...that certainly complicates things doesn’t it.”

“Which is why we need to find him as quickly as we can.” Wasp stated, “He’s a scared little kid, lost and alone with insanely powerful abilities he doesn’t understand.”

Callisto nodded, “Alright then we’re agreed to a point, we need to find Jacob. Luckily we have someone looking for him already. Come with me.”  
“I’ve got a few things I need to take care of first.” Kevin stated, shooting Ben a quick glance, “Namely getting the Gamma to Foley. Go on without me.”

“I can help you with that if you like?” Ben asked, drawing a suspicious look from Daisy and Tony. Ignoring the looks, he closed his eyes, his form changing to that of an at least twelve foot tall tan lizard man. Callisto let out a low whistle of appreciation, while Jon’s eyes widened slightly.

“I’ll help too.” Daisy stated, stepping forward, shooting a furtive look between him and Kevin.

Kevin gave her a considering look, before turning back to Ben, “Thank you miss but I think you’re friend here will be all the help I need.”

“Alright then.” Callisto said with a roll of her shoulders, “I’ll take the rest of you to see Ojo, hopefully when Crusher and the shapeshifter get back we’ll have found Jacob.”

Wasp and Jon followed her without a moment's hesitation, though the former sent Ben a questioning look as she went. Meanwhile Daisy and Tony stayed a bit longer watching Crusher and Ben walk over to the truck with the Gamma in the back, which Ben’s dinosaur-like form managed to lift effortlessly. The pair then walked off with Crusher leading the way.

“I’m going after them.” Daisy muttered, moving to follow after them. Tony stuck his hand out, stopping her dead.

“Leave it.” Tony said, watching them walk, the bug he’d place still recording their conversation.

“You’re just going to let them walk away?” Daisy asked, astounded, “They’re clearly hiding something from us. Whoever that really is, Ben knows them, and pretty well from their body language. He’s utterly comfortable around them plus did you see the look Ben gave Callisto when she started getting all touchy-feely with him?”

“Whatever is going on there will come out eventually.” Tony reassured, “Who knows maybe they’re were dating and the Dome threw a big wrench in the deal?”

“Really, that’s the first thing you could come up with?” Daisy asked with a slight smirk.

“I’m just spit-balling Tremors, I wouldn’t quote me on any of this.” Tony snarked back, “Ben seems like a good person, I doubt that whatever this is is worth getting riled up about.”

“I hope you’re right.” Daisy said, giving Ben one last look before following the others inside the building.

“So do I.” Tony muttered to himself and JARVIS, “Up the volume J.”

“At once sir.” JARVIS responded, giving Tony a backseat to Ben and Kevin’s conversation as he followed Daisy inside.

* * *

 

It had taken roughly ten minutes for Ben and Kevin to reach “Foley” who to the former’s surprise was a fourteen year old kid whose entire body seemed to be coated in a layer of gold. He surpised Ben again when after softly laying his hands on the Gamma every single wound sealed shut. Leaving the pacified and sleeping Gamma in the boy’s care Kevin and Ben set out, the latter back in human form simply to draw less attention to themselves as they walked.

Ben looked back, watching Foley wipe his brow tiredly before turning to talk to another new arrival at his makeshift clinic.

“Isn’t he a little young to be the head doctor around here?” Ben asked, looking over at Kevin.

“He’s not the head doctor, he’s just the one we take people to when they’re in a desperate need of a fix.” Kevin explained, nodding appreciatively at several people that had stopped to let them pass, “There are a few nurses and med-techs here that got stuck under the Dome and help out how they can...but this place can cook up all kinds of nasty unexpected things, plus we don’t have a monopoly on medicine around here.”

“Couldn’t SHIELD help with that?” Ben asked, smiling kindly at a young girl as she ran past, her skin shifting from red to blue.

“SHIELD could certainly help with a lot of things.” Kevin said, with just a hint of bitterness, “But the Dome itself makes it difficult, sometimes it feels like the damn thing has a mind of its own.”

They walked in silence for a while before coming to a stop in front of what looked like a slapped together mechanic shop with vehicles similar to the one they’d rode in on parked beside it.

“Welcome to Casa de Levin.” Kevin stated with a bit of levity, “Don’t forget to take your shoes off when you get inside.”

“Stuck in the middle of a wasteland...and you decide to make a car shop.” Ben muttered, shaking his head slightly, “Why am I not surprised.”

“Just trying to get some familiarity back in my life man.” Kevin noted, a somberness returning to the conversation.

Inside the house was every bit as ramshackle as the exterior with mishmashed piecemeal furniture, some of which looked like Kevin had made himself. Kevin led him up a set of rickety stairs to the second level where two doorways opened up, to the left was a medium sized room with a small cot, a three legged table leaning against the nearest wall and two slightly singed chairs. To the right was a smaller room, with a dinged up dresser, a collection of colorful lights made from bottles and scavenged light bulbs, and a single mattress that was currently occupied by a heavily sleeping young girl.

Kevin walked into the right room first, leaving Ben standing in the doorway. Looking over his friend’s shoulder he took in the blonde hair, pale skin, an almost painfully thin frame and to his surprise arms that tapered off into large black wings, with small clawed three fingered hands.

“Who is she?” Ben asked, watching as Kevin carefully, almost fatherly pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. The girl muttered something in her sleep but didn’t wake, instead scrunching her face deeper into the pillow.

“Her names Fiona.” Kevin said, his hands clenching slightly, “From what I’ve gotten her to tell me she’s a runaway...like I was. She was wandering the streets the night the Dome appeared and as you can see it changed her.”

“However the Morlocks weren’t the first to find her...the Watchdogs did.” Kevin stated, a look of pure hatred on his face as he turned to look at Ben, “Think of them like the Forever Knights, minus the bullshit they spewed about chivalry and knighthood. They’re all about human purity, meaning anyone different...like me, like Fiona, like every single person trapped down here is nothing but a stain to get rid of.”

“How’d she get away?” Ben asked, noticing the all to familiar feral smile Kevin got when his darker side came out.

“She got lucky, managed to make a break for it right after they found her.” Kevin said, but the anger failed to fade, “They broke her arm...did some other vial things that I don’t want or care to mention, and then she ran into me. So did the Watchdogs chasing her, which was very, very bad for them.”

Ben gave him a pointed look but Kevin shrugged it off, “They deserved what they got, shattered limbs mostly. After that I brought Fiona back here, Joshua patched her up, and I offered her a place to stay until I could get her out of the Dome. Thing is...she doesn’t want to leave and she’s not the only one.”

“Why?” Ben asked, as Kevin stood up and lead him over to the other room.

“Because she’s scared of what normal folks will do to her when they see what she looks like.” Kevin said, sitting down at the table, “Many of the folks around here that can’t pass as human are, you can thank the Watchdogs for that shit too, and the Gamma Core.”

“I thought the Gamma Core was with SHIELD?” Ben queered, leaning against the wall across from Kevin.

“It is nominally...but the folks are jaded, colored by the destruction Gamma Mutants have caused in the past.” Kevin explained, “Like your new friend Dr. Banner.”

“How do you know all this?” Ben asked again.

“It’s been three months since we got dropped here man, most of its hearsay and things I’ve been told, other stuff I picked up while out exploring the Dome and interacting with the few SHIELD stooges I believe are trustworthy.” Kevin stated, “But more to the fact, how did you get roped into the Avengers?”

“Like I said I’ll tell you after you tell me how you wound up being one of the head-honchos around here, “Crusher”.” Ben state, smirking slightly.

“Okay first off I didn’t pick the nickname, Callisto gave it to me.” Kevin started, holding up a hand to stop Ben from making an outburst, “Second of all before you say anything yes, I am very aware she wants to jump my bones, I’m dealing with it.”

Ben made a face that was a mixture of disgust and a smirk before letting Kevin continue, “And as for how I got here, it’s pretty simple Callisto and her gang found me after I’d fought off a couple of Albedo’s fucked up creations and took me under their wing. That was three days after we landed here, around the same time I started learning about everything, where we were, who the Morlocks and Watchdogs were, and that more importantly people needed someone familiar with trekking around a wasteland under a haunting red sky. Guess who fit the bill?”

“I started going out on solo excursions, finding folks and bringing them back to Dust Town, finding supplies we could us, making contact with the quickly expanding SHIELD outposts and after the second month started bringing people that wanted to leave to safety like Jacob and his mom. People started joining me, looking at me like a leader...guess Servantis got one thing right when he was conditioning me. About a week into the second month here, I had a posse that was calling themselves the “Crusher’s Crew”, a bit embarrassing I know but what are you gonna do. The thing is though...first time I went out and most times I go out still I’m only looking for one person…”

“Gwen.” Ben finished, a great weight seeming to settle on his shoulders as he plopped down into the seat across from Kevin,” Kev, I’m sorry man but what I have to say next you aren’t going to like.”

* * *

 

Daisy was annoyed, partly because Ben had been gone of nearly an hour now, and partly because no one else seemed to be giving that little fact any attention. Callisto didn’t care an ounce about Ben being missing, why would she, though Daisy could tell she wanted “Crusher” back from wherever they’d gotten off too. Janet and John were to interested in finding Jacob to give Ben much thought, both of them peppering Callisto with questions, direct serious ones from the SHIELD Agent while Wasp would pipe up with random seemingly nonsensical questions, though Daisy could tell she was fishing for info that could be useful later on. Tony meanwhile was staring off into space, a annoying contented smile on his face as leaned back in his chair, both feet firmly resting on the table.

She decided to instead focus on the other people in the room with them, a hooded eerily silent figure that Callisto had introduced as Porter, who’s very presence put Daisy on edge though she couldn’t figure out why and Ojo, a young man that couldn’t be older than seventeen of Hispanic descent dressed in tattered jeans, a deep green hoodie and battered sneakers. His most distinctive feature as his nickname suggested was the large, vibrant green cyclopean eye that sat in the center of his forehead. The eye was rolled back in his head as he wrote down notes in a pen and occasional spoke up with information that he thought was important for Callisto to know.

“Find anything yet hombrecito? Callisto asked, nudging the young man softly.

“No I...wait.” Ojo stated, a light suddenly shining from his eye onto the table, a blurry image beginning to form.

“What is it?” Wasp asked, staring intently at the shifting image, “Did you find Jacob?”

“No.” Ojo stated almost robotically, listing slightly in his seat, “A family on the docks near Ryker’s Island, the youngest child has visible mutations, vibrant pink skin and tentacles for hair, there’s a Watchdog patrol on foot headed right towards them...and one of those things.”

“Porter go!” Callisto commanded, a black-and-white image taking shape of a huddled family resting inside a heavily looted store-front appeared, before zooming off towards a heavily armed group of Watchdogs approaching from the West, in turn being followed by a creature that looked exactly like the one that had attacked Ben, excluding the massive metal claw in place of it’s right hand.

The mysterious figure left the room without a word, a crackling popping noise sounding as he reached the doorway, the cloak he was wearing crumpling to the ground as he seemingly disappeared.

“Porter.” Tony noted, with an impressed look, “Fitting name.”

“It should be.” Callisto mocked, “He picked it out himself.”

“What are those things?” John asked, nodding at the skittering red-and-black creature as it leapt off the roof towards the Watchdogs, the image cutting out as Ojo wisely turned his gaze elsewhere, “One attacked us earlier, and SHIELD lost a few personal to them as well.”

“We have no idea.” Callisto grimaced, “We didn't know they were even out there at first. We would just find signs, people brutally ripped apart, stange red-and-black liquid that would twitch and writhe if you got near it, shadows in the dark stalking people we sent out looking for food.”

She visibly shuddered before continuing onward, “Then we caught a break after Crusher brought one back, he’d killed it though judging by the way he looked it wasn’t an easy fight at all.”

“And?” Tony asked, sitting forward.

“Whatever they are, they’re not human or even anything living honestly.” Callisto stated, “Under that twitchy red-and-black goop they’re mostly metal with bits of odd stone embedded here and there.”

“Odd how?” John asked.

“They’re covered in glowing purple markings, and psychics we have that have gotten near them get nosebleeds and roaring headaches.” Callisto explained.

“Would you happen to have any of this stuff on hand?” Tony asked, deeply intrigued.

“No.” Callisto stated, “Crusher destroyed much of it personally, after seeing what it did.”

“Seeing what, what did?” Crusher asked, drawing everyone’s attention, excluding Ojo who had gone quite lost in his search. Ben walked in after him, and Daisy noted that both men seemed tense by the postures they carried while entering the room. Crusher in particular had a dejected air about him, but quickly schooled it as he took a seat across from Tony.

Ben paused for a moment, before plopping down next to Daisy, doing his best to ignore her probing stare.

“What took you both so long?” Daisy asked, leaning in closer to Ben, noticing his left eye twitch slightly before turning to face her, phasing out the conversation going on beside her.

“We found Foley, who turned out to be a fourteen year old boy with borderline miraculous healing powers.” Ben explained, “And then Crusher, took me aside and probed me for information.”

“You give him anything?” Daisy prodded, once again noting the twitch.

“No.” Ben responded, “I told him that I just woke up from a coma, and didn’t know much about what he was asking me.”

“How’d he take that?” Daisy asked, looking over at Crusher, who was listening to Tony’s questions attently.

“He...didn’t take it all that well.” Ben stated, his eyes downcast, “But what about you did you find Jacob yet?”

“No.” Daisy answered, silently taking note of the blatant redirection, “But hopefully we will soon.”

They both turned back to the greater conversation, catching Crusher’s final response to Tony.

“We run into any more of those things while we’re out there getting Jacob, then you’re happy to picking them apart yourself.” Crusher stated, sitting back in his chair, “But I think you should know that one that went after you and your friend here, is a tough son of a bitch.”

“How so?” Tony asked, inching close to the table.

“It’s willy, won’t throw everything into a fight like the others do.” Crusher explained, “It doesn’t just rip people apart either, not all the time anyway. I’ve chased it off a few times, and the folks it’s killed look...drained is the only way I can think of putting it.”

“Drained how?” Daisy asked, taking in the disgusted slightly frightened looks Callisto and Crusher shot each other before the latter answered.

“They’re skin becomes near paper thin with this harsh ashy grey color to it, their faces are almost skeletal in appearance.” He stated, his fist clenching ever so slightly as he continued, “Men, women, children, the random stray animal, all of them looking like they’ve been mummified...”  
As he finished Daisy took stock of her companions, John’s face hard hardened, Jan had paled considerably, while Tony was staring straight ahead, his brain most likely thinking up a smattering of ideas on what this thing was. She turned to look at Ben, and he just returned her glance with a cold stare, his fists trembling slightly.

“It’s like...it’s like it sucks the life out of them.” Callisto finished.

“And that’s not the most worrying part of the damn thing.” Crusher stated, “I’m not one-hundred percent sure about this, but i’m pretty sure under all that gunk is a person.”

“How did you deduce that?” John asked, a hint of skepticism entering his voice.

“It can bleed.” Crusher returned, “I got into a fight with it once, one of the toughest fights in my life, but I got lucky managed to cut it from sternum to below it’s ribs. And unlike the rest which just oozed more of that tarry liquid, blood started pouring from the wound. It let out this horrifying scream, and bull rushed me, tackling me to the ground before racing off, running away as fast as it could.”

“Well to quote a favorite governor of mine, if it bleeds we can kill it.” Tony remarked, with a slight chuckle.

“My thoughts exactly.” Crusher noted, smirking slightly, “The only problem is I haven’t been able to catch it yet, not since the first go around.”

Any further remarks were cut short by a massive explosion that rocked the entire building, and judging by the shouts of shock and fear coming from outside all of Dust Town was well. Ojo gasped loudly, an image flickering to life slowly, as the dust settled.

“What the hell was that?!” John asked, standing to his feet abruptly, fighting to get his rifle over his shoulder.

“Are we under attack?” Callisto demanded, looking back and forth between Ojo and the blurry image, “Ojo report!”

“You wanted to find Jacob Reece.” Ojo stated, gesturing to the image as it came into focus, “There you have it.”

It showed an aerial view of a smoking crater, which seemed to extend past the bounds of the projection, the assembled group watch in shock as several building crumpled forward into the pit, parts of their foundation and walls shorn away by the blast radius. One building slammed into the dead center of the crater, it’s motion dissipating the smoke to reveal a large crystalline structure that pierced the building as it fell, it’s remains severing around it and leaving it utterly unharmed.

“Jacob Reece, is currently sitting directly at the center of that crystal structure.” Ojo informed the group.

“Why?” Ben asked, “What prompted him to do this?”

“That.” Ojo stated, the image shifting rapidly to show the smoking, twitching body of one of creatures at the very edge of the blast radius.

Wasp let out a shocked gasp as the creature sat up, and shook itself, before opening its mouth and screaming at the sky, a long black sinuous tongue emerging from its mouth.

“There’s your special case Sir.” Ojo stated, nodding his head slightly in Crusher’s direction.

“Where are they?” Crusher demanded, standing up, the others joining him in a fluid motion.

“A block north of us.” Ojo stated, “I believe Jacob was trying to find his way back here when the creature ambushed him. And it appears that there are more on the way to him right now, most likely drawn by the explosion.”

“Or you’re special friend is calling them there.” Tony noted, staring across the table at Kevin, “It’s probably the leader, source of a joint hive mind, their creator perhaps, good old patient zero?”

“Whatever it is we can’t let it get anywhere near Jacob.” Wasp stated, shrinking down and flitting out the doorway.

“You heard the lady.” Tony stated, racing out the door with John a step behind, “Let’s move people, Crusher you with us?”

Crusher looked over at Callisto who nodded, “I’ll try and get some people together to help you but you need to go now.”

Daisy followed the former out the door, Ben falling into step beside her.

“You up for a fight like this?” Daisy asked allowed, looking between Ben and Crusher. The former nodded silently, as he slide his hand along the wall, his skin taking on the same craggy texture and sheen.

“We’ve been in worse.” Ben stated, a look of horror passing over his face momentarily before he changed, becoming something blue, lithe and reptilian and was gone in a burst of wind leaving Daisy with a look of shock and befuddlement on her face.

**And scene. Man I haven’t touched this story in a while but it’s good to be back! Not much action in this chapter, but don’t worry the Under the Dome min-arc while be reaching a triumphant and exciting conclusion next chapter, though that doesn’t mean this is the last time we will be seeing the Dome far from it, other plot points will be taking precedent however. I also hope you took notice of a light sprinkling of characters I’ve inserted into Dust Town, which will be a major stomping ground for a our group of misfits for sometime to come. So Daisy is getting an inkling that something is off with Ben, while Tony...well Tony knows almost the whole shebang minus one big glaring factoid. Those will also come to a head next chapter. As always leave any comments, critiques or questions you may have. VerBeek Signing Off!**


End file.
